President Trump’s much-discussed 28-point Russia-Ukraine peace proposal has been unveiled as an audacious attempt to end a grinding, costly war that Washington’s elites have muddled through for years. The blueprint calls for an immediate ceasefire, a comprehensive security framework, and the creation of a Peace Council to oversee implementation — a council Trump himself would chair, signaling he intends to put American leadership front and center.
The most controversial element is blunt: the plan would effectively recognize Russian control over Crimea and large swaths of the Donbas, and freeze front lines in other contested regions, forcing Kyiv into painful territorial concessions. For patriots who prize national sovereignty this is a bitter pill to imagine, but it’s also the kind of hard, real-world tradeoff negotiators have long had to face when ending conflicts on terms that are enforceable.
Trump’s proposal also insists Ukraine formally abandon NATO ambitions, limits the size of its armed forces, and bars foreign combat troops from Ukrainian soil — arrangements designed to de-escalate the direct military confrontation with Russia. These are precisely the kinds of enforceable restraints European capitals never committed to when they promised endless platitudes, and they force our allies to stop freeloading on American blood and treasure.
On the economic front the plan promises to unlock frozen Russian assets — roughly $100 billion — to rebuild Ukraine, while opening a path for Russia’s gradual reintegration into the global economy in exchange for security guarantees. Critics will holler about “rewarding aggression,” but principled conservatives should ask a simple question: who pays to rebuild, who enforces the ceasefire, and how do we avoid another decade of open-ended subsidies and deployments?
Unsurprisingly, Kyiv and many European leaders are furious, calling the package unacceptable and likening it to appeasement; these reactions expose how detached much of the diplomatic class is from the hard realities of war and domestic politics. Americans tired of being the world’s ATM should take note: leadership sometimes means cutting ugly bargains that prevent our sons and daughters from being sent into perpetual foreign entanglements.
Make no mistake, Trump’s plan is bold and uncomfortable, and that’s precisely why it should not be dismissed out of hand by conservatives who value peace through strength. We should support any effort that ends endless war, forces Europe to shoulder its share, and protects American interests — while holding Kyiv accountable for tough choices that will determine whether Ukraine survives as a sovereign nation or becomes a frozen battleground forever.
