In other words, Trump’s idea is to be weak, export weakness, and see what happens. What happens will not look like strength. Were Trump to fail to achieve such a deal, Russia would be in a better position thanks to Trump’s concessions and Ukrainians would be dying in greater numbers to defend their country.

President-elect Trump has criticized the scale of U.S. military and financial support for Ukraine, vowing to end the war quickly, without saying how.