Ukraine’s future uncertain
as Trump shifts U.S. policy

Vance visits Dachau and then meets ultra-nationalist AfD leader at former Nazi headquarters

By Irwin Rapoport

Updated February 20, 2025

The United States took on the mantle of global leadership following the Nazi Invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.

By the end of WWII, with atomic weapons to its arsenal and the Cold War beginning, the U.S. became the world’s “policeman” and with its partners established the post-international order based on institutions like the United Nations, the Bretton Woods Agreement, and creation of NATO and other regional military alliances. The Americans also initiated and funded the Marshall Plan that rebuilt war-torn Western Europe, a monumental feat with long-lasting benefits.

With the power it has flexed, Americans have rightly taken credit for many positive and generous actions and simultaneously, initiated unmitigated disasters costing millions of lives via the War in Vietnam, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and the propping up of dictatorships and crushing of democratic governments (Iran, Chile, and Guatemala).

President Donald Trump is emulating British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain as he seeks to end Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine with a Sudetenland-style agreement…

As the dominant partner in the coalition which defeated the Axis powers in Europe and Japan in Asia, America was the “arsenal of democracy” – an achievement to be proud of.

But now President Donald Trump is emulating British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain as he seeks to end Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine with a Sudetenland-style agreement that led to the dismemberment and ultimate end of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

The Munich Agreement signed on September 30, 1938, between Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, Benito Mussolini of fascist Italy, and Chamberlain and Édouard Daladier of France, the leaders of the appeasement, gave Hitler the Sudetenland, a large tract of Czechoslovakia along the German border key to its defence. The Czech government was excluded from the discussions at Hitler’s insistence, and the British and French readily agreed. The agreement’s security guarantees were meaningless as WWII began eleven months later. There was no “peace in our time.”

Fast forward to Trump’s second inaugural address on January 20 where he declared his government is embarking on an America First-based foreign policy. During his campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine on Day One of his presidency.

Since then Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who started the war, on several occasions without consulting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy was not invited to peace talks on February 18 in Saudi Arabia led by American Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian equivalent. Zelenskyy cancelled his trip to Saudi Arabia on February 19 to remind the world his country will never accept any treaty without its consent.

Nor were European Union officials invited. However, Trump requested that troops from a coalition of EU nations be stationed in Ukraine to guarantee a peace treaty.

‘Zelenskyy cancelled his trip to Saudi Arabia on February 19 to remind the world his country will never accept any treaty without its consent.’

Sadly history is repeating itself and the results shall be disastrous for Ukraine and its beleaguered people. Trump has proven himself to be untrustworthy and a stooge for Putin. This is obscene and terrifying.

Trump is blaming Ukraine for starting the war and has declared Zelenskyy a “dictator.” You can’t make this up. The Euro News article, Trump calls Zelenskyy a ‘dictator,’ questioning Ukraine’s future provides the key details: The exchange of criticism between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump further escalated on Wednesday after Trump labelled the Ukrainian leader a “dictator”. “I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions have unnecessarily died,” Trump says in a post on Truth Social. “Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left,” he added.

Trump’s harsh words came in response to an earlier statement by Zelenskyy, who said that the U.S. president was living in Russia’s “disinformation space,” following Trump’s allegations that Zelenskyy’s role as president was illegitimate due to no elections in Ukraine. Ukraine was scheduled to hold a presidential election in March or April 2024, concluding Zelenskyy’s first five-year term. The vote was postponed as the country’s constitution does not permit elections under martial law, which was declared on 24 February 2022, the day when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

‘The U.S. was severely criticized for issuing its negotiating points in advance of the peace talk, which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced while in Europe last week.’

The Kremlin repeatedly sought to use the delay to portray Zelenskyy as “illegitimate,” a claim rejected by Kyiv as a distortion of the constitution.

The U.S. was severely criticized for issuing its negotiating points in advance of the peace talk, which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced while in Europe last week. Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, outlined the concessions Ukraine must make to end hostilities. “In my view, there must be territorial concessions,” he said. “There could also be refusing to use force in the future and downsizing military forces” and that the U.S. would no longer “tolerate an imbalanced relationship” with its allies and called on Nato members to spend much more on defence.

Hegseth also said it was “unrealistic” to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders and downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO.

Trump has raged against the NATO alliance since his first term, demanding its members spend more on defence and threatening to not defend if they do not pay up. Since his re-election, the rhetoric has ramped up and comments from American officials at the recent Munich Security Conference may be the final nail in the coffin.

Retired General Barry McCaffrey believes NATO is “over” when he appeared on an MSNBC panel of foreign policy experts discussing Trump’s blaming Ukraine for Russia invading their border. McCaffrey, who believes a war is inevitable, said: “Unfortunately, my own view is the damage is done. It’s now irrevocable. There’s not a shred of rational argument among European powers to trust the United States’ commitment to NATO and Article Five.”

‘If the U.S. withdraws from NATO, its word can no longer be trusted and I foresee a free-for-all as belligerent and aggressive countries will not be constrained from terrorizing and invading their neighbours.’

NATO is a bedrock of global security. For it to unravel shatters the concept of collective security, and sharing of intelligence, and weakens diplomatic and economic relations. If the U.S. withdraws from NATO, its word can no longer be trusted and I foresee a free-for-all as belligerent and aggressive countries will not be constrained from terrorizing and invading their neighbours.

Ukraine’s president hit back at Trump for not being invited to the peace talks. Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons was furious: “It’s a ‘betrayal’ of Ukrainian sacrifices if they’re left off the negotiating table.”

Incredibly, Trump defends not inviting Ukraine to the peace talks, with this most ridiculous explanation: “I’m very disappointed, I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat [at the talks],” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, noting that a “half baked” negotiator could have ended the conflict early on “without the loss of much land.” “Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

Trump is using Hitler’s playbook. Last week Trump conditioned American support for Ukraine on it signing a $500 billion deal to cede Americans ownership of critical raw materials used in a variety of high-tech products.

As expected, Trump’s sycophant Senator Lindsey Graham, while in Munich, defended his leader. “If this minerals agreement happens, it’s a nightmare for Putin cause we have something to defend that we didn’t have before. So you better be pulling for this mineral agreement. I told President Trump, it may be the old Soviet Union, maybe the Russian empire, but I do know he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is going after the money. Don’t let him steal what Ukraine has to enrich itself, President Trump can go to the American people and say that Ukraine is not a burden, it’s a benefit. They’re sitting on top of trillions of dollars worth of minerals that all of us can benefit from by aligning with the West.”

‘Trump conditioned American support for Ukraine on it signing a $500 billion deal to cede Americans ownership of critical raw materials used in a variety of high-tech products.’

Next time a famine occurs somewhere in Africa, will Trump demand relief in exchange for economic concessions? If so, the U.S. will be the world’s No. 1 bully.

The recklessness of Trump’s foreign policy crystallized at the Munich Security Conference where Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats to invade NATO countries. He stressed that the greatest threat to Europe is how certain governments censor right-wing opinions and voters on social media and other venues. “The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within: the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” he said. “There should be no firewalls.”

Trump was elected, in part, by securing support from white supremacists. He has embraced Nazi rhetoric in speeches and Truth Social posts. “First buddy” Elon Musk gave Nazi-style salutes at recent meetings and is a supporter of the AfD (Alternative for Germany), an extreme right nationalist party that embraces neo-Nazi ideology.

Surreal the situation is. Just 24 hours after visiting the Dachau concentration camp outside of Munich, where he commented on the horror of the Holocaust, Vance met the leader of AfD at the former Munich headquarters of the Nazi Party. Trump, Vance, and Musk are striving to promote extreme nationalist parties in Europe that align with MAGA ideology.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed Vance’s assertions, explaining that Afd members trivialize Germany’s Nazi past and the horrific crimes associated with it.“That is why we will not accept outsiders interfering in favour of this party in our democracy, in our elections, in the process of democratic opinion-forming,” he said. “That is unbecoming – especially among friends and allies, and we strongly reject this.”

‘Elon Musk gave Nazi-style salutes at recent meetings and is a supporter of the AfD (Alternative for Germany), an extreme right nationalist party that embraces neo-Nazi ideology.’

Vance refused to meet with Scholz, based on the White House position that his government would soon fall.

Trump is enamoured by dictators and desperately curries their favour. He likes and admires Putin, and following the first round of Ukrainian peace talks, both nations agreed to find ways to restore normal diplomatic relations and lift economic sanctions imposed due to the invasion. This proves Trump’s willingness to cater to Putin’s demands and reward him for the invasion that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people, seized portions of Eastern Ukraine and kidnapped thousands of Ukrainian children who have been adopted by Russian families.

A peace treaty without Ukraine’s participation and approval, combined with the U.S. refusal to guarantee its security, heralds the beginning of the end of an independent Ukraine. We cannot let this happen.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.

Feature image: Talks between U.S. VP and Ukrainian President, U.S. Department of State, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Concordia University.