For months, the so-called “coalition of the willing” led by Great Britain, France and Germany, have been proposing a multinational group of peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine – supported by U.S. military.  However, after President Trump asserted he would not support a U.S. troop presence in Ukraine, things got sticky.

Without the U.S. military, the NATO members were not willing to put their troops into the meat grinder buffer zone between Russian and Ukrainian forces. The U.K, France and Germany continually demanded U.S. troops as protection, just in case things escalated.  This insurance approach was expanded by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy who coined the term, “security guarantee” to encapsulate the EU demand.

However, President Trump cuts the Gordian knot in the “ceasefire plan,” by eliminating the “ceasefire plan.”

Instead, President Trump goes directly to a peace agreement, and somehow the EU members agreed to it.  There will be no negotiation for a ceasefire; instead there will be immediate negotiations for a long-term peace agreement.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “A great and very successful day in Alaska! The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late-night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO. It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up. President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” (link)

President Trump does not publicly point out that the shift in plan negates the need for a ceasefire security force, but the reality is inside the unspoken change.  A very smart and strategic approach that appears to have flown under the radar.

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump has won the support of Western partners for his bid to end the war in Ukraine, with European capitals voicing their approval following his high-stakes talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump spoke with top EU leaders on Saturday morning after the bilateral summit on Friday appeared to end without an agreement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also took part in the telephone conversation, alongside Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, Poland’s Karol Nawrocki and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni were confirmed by Brussels to have joined. A second call was then held by the European leaders without Zelenskyy and the Americans to discuss the situation.

In a statement, Zelenskyy said that he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump, initially one-on-one, before other leaders were invited to take part. “We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia,” he said, adding that he will travel to Washington on Monday to meet with Trump.

“As envisioned by President Trump, the next step must now be further talks including President Zelenskyy, whom he will meet soon,” the group of European countries represented on the call said in a statement. “We are also ready to work with President Trump and President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support.” (read more)

Zelenskyy will be in Washington DC on Monday afternoon for a talk with President Trump.  In that meeting, we anticipate President Trump telling Zelenskyy that the general terms of the ‘peace agreement’ will be to include the permanent loss of territory in exchange for something we do not yet know.