Those pushing Ukraine to surrender may now be in retreat
National Post, 29 April 2025
Trump may have finally realized that it is a mistake — as Pope Francis made last year — to pressure Ukraine to end a war it did not start
U.S. President Donald Trump quipped on Sunday that it was “the nicest office I have ever seen.” He was speaking of St. Peter’s Basilica which, relative to the late-Saddam style of decor featured at Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago, is rather understated.
He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in St. Peter’s before the funeral of Pope Francis, whose mortal remains were still in the church while the two presidents decided to stage a hasty bilateral sit-down. Forty years ago, Yes, Prime Minister had an entire episode about the diplomatic benefits of a state funeral, but it was a satire and the discussions were held at ancillary receptions, not a few steps ahead of the procession of the casket.
The old line is that the narcissist must be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. Trump apparently could not bear not to be the centre of attention, even at the funeral of a pope.
President Zelenskyy was likely grateful that the sacred ambience of St. Peter’s — and the absence of Vice-President JD Vance — made it unlikely that he would be ambushed by intemperate shouting. He was also likely pleased to see the end of this pontificate, for Pope Francis had been the only world leader to explicitly call upon Ukraine to surrender.
It was last March that Francis called for Ukraine to have “the courage of the white flag” and “negotiate before things get worse.” It provoked an incandescent response in Ukraine, including from Ukrainian Catholics. In essence, Pope Francis had the Trump position — things are bad on the battlefield, they may well get worse, so better to surrender now.
It may be that the surrender party — led by Trump strategically and Francis morally — is now in retreat.
Trump prefers to speak of “a deal” rather than “surrender,” but surrender is a type of deal. Trump knows that there are only two ways to end the war in “one day.” Either the invading party lays down its arms and goes home, or the invaded party surrenders.
Give Trump’s affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the preferred option was Ukrainian surrender. Hence the ramping up of lies — to a greater degree than even the usual Trump standard — about Ukraine starting the war, the relative contributions of Europeans and Americans to Ukraine’s defence, and the reliability of Putin’s promises. When Zelenskyy refused to co-operate in his own surrender, Trump’s anger boiled over in the Oval Office.
What Trump has never understood is that Ukraine does not need the “art of the deal” to surrender to Russia. If Zelenskyy wanted to surrender, he could fly to Moscow in one day and not ruin his visit to the Bernini-adorned St. Peter’s by having to look into the eyes of Donald Trump.
It is not clear whether Trump pressures Ukraine to surrender because he favours Putin winning the war, or because he realizes that he is inadequate to the challenge of Putin’s belligerence. “Peace through strength” — the Reagan motto which Trump has adopted as his own — requires a man of clear vision and strong character to handle a Putin.
It may be finally dawning on Trump that, after faithfully parroting Putin’s propaganda points, he is now being played for a fool. Zelenskyy agrees to a temporary ceasefire; Putin rains down missiles upon Kyiv. Trump fired off a plaintive social media post: “Vladimir, STOP!” The laughter from the Kremlin reached farther than its missiles.
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