How Trump can win Ukraine to save America's future

Now we see that Trump has quickly aligned himself with Biden’s peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, likely aiming to claim credit for bringing peace even before his inauguration. This strategy seems designed to demonstrate effectiveness to his voters, but it cannot and should not apply to Ukraine.

Russo-Ukrainian war is vastly different and directly affects transatlantic security. This is an all-nation war, with the entire Ukrainian population resisting Russia’s aggression as the country faces systematic erasure from the map. Despite Russian efforts to destroy Ukraine, it has shown remarkable resilience: maintaining its winter energy supply without blackouts, achieving 4% economic growth during the full-scale war, and limiting Russian gains to costly, human-sacrificing advances in the east. Meanwhile, Russia’s economy is suffering, and its losses on the battlefield are staggering.

Given the magnitude of this war, we must convince Trump that there are no simple solutions. Supporting Ukraine is of strategic importance to the United States, and it cannot become “Trump’s Afghanistan.” If Trump yields to Russian demands and pushes for the bad peace deal, it would embolden other authoritarian regimes like North Korea, Iran, and China, encouraging them to challenge American interests in critical areas such as the Arctic or the South China Sea. A weak response in Ukraine could irreparably damage US global leadership..

Instead, Trump should seize this moment to show strength by supporting Ukraine more robustly than during Biden and his previous administration. This war is winnable—but only if red lines are removed and comprehensive support is provided to defeat Russia. Russia can lose this war and accept the defeat, a scenario that would secure a genuine victory for Trump, one with global reverberations that reassert America’s dominance.

Ukraine offers more than just a strategic victory. It can become a vital ally for the US, contributing to the “arsenal of democracy” by leveraging its vast reserves of critical minerals and its potential for becoming a militarized nation with advanced defense production and a booming economy. This partnership could secure European borders and stabilize the transatlantic alliance, reinforcing global peace and US leadership.

Supporting Ukraine is not just a moral imperative. It is a strategic investment in America’s future power and security. President Zelenskyy presented his victory plan to Trump before the election, which included four points. One is the NATO invitation; another is about providing security guarantees after the war and after the ceasefire, and another on protecting Ukrainian natural resources and deepening economic cooperation to incentivize international investment in a durable peace in Ukraine. And regarding weapons, this victory plan includes a detailed list of equipment and capabilities that Ukraine should gain, which is not open to the public.

However, it is known to include critical long-range strike capabilities, which is the continuation of the strategy that Ukraine is currently using with mainly its own weapon. It strikes more than 1000 kilometers into Russia to destroy ammunition depots, to destroy different production facilities of weapons, military bases, and so on. These should be increased tremendously with American long-range weapons. Also, of course, Ukraine should get air superiority with more air defense systems and fighter jets, including early detection platforms known as “eyes of the sky,” which were promised to Ukraine but never delivered.

All this is possible with sufficient US political will to move past self-imposed deterrence and artificial red lines. This is why the military operation in Kursk is paying off: we are approaching Trump’s inauguration, and we see that Russia is nowhere close to liberating Kursk, even with the use of the North Korean military.

This gives Russia additional vulnerability and an additional argument for why this war is winnable, why a peace deal that is good for Ukraine and which is essentially a victory for Ukraine in this war is possible.

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How Trump can win Ukraine to save America’s future