Russia’s brazen air assault on Kyiv over the weekend was no coincidence — it came just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to meet with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, underlining how desperate Moscow is to intimidate any real peace effort. The attack was deadly and deliberate, and it exposed once again the brutal reality of Vladimir Putin’s campaign to keep Ukraine under siege rather than negotiate in good faith.
Reports from the ground describe a massive barrage of drones and missiles that hammered the capital for hours, leaving neighborhoods in ruins and millions without heat in freezing temperatures. Eyewitness and intelligence accounts put the scale of the strike at hundreds of aerial weapons and dozens of missiles, a raw display of force meant to rattle negotiators and civilians alike.
Local officials confirmed fatalities and scores of wounded, with critical infrastructure damaged and ordinary Ukrainians paying the price for geopolitical theater. This isn’t random violence; it is targeted pressure intended to shape the outcome of talks while the world watches.
Against that grim backdrop, President Trump invited Zelenskyy to Mar-a-Lago to try to hammer out a peace framework that could finally end nearly four years of grinding conflict and loss. The move is bold, unapologetic, and precisely the kind of leadership the American people deserve — a president who puts real diplomacy and decisive bargaining ahead of endless signaling and moral posturing.
President Trump has made clear that any deal will need his sign-off, and rightly so: the United States is not a passive bystander in a transaction that could reshape European security for a generation. Let the critics howl — Americans want results, not virtue-signaling that leaves blood on the ground while Washington dithers.
Make no mistake, patriots: negotiating from a position of strength is the only path to a lasting settlement that protects Ukrainian sovereignty without sacrificing Western security. That means demanding accountability from Russia, securing enforceable guarantees, and refusing any arrangement that simply rewards aggression or abandons our allies.
If this Mar-a-Lago meeting produces progress, credit a president willing to go where others fear to tread; if it fails, the blame belongs to Vladimir Putin and the appeasers who thought aggression could be normalized. The American people — hardworking patriots raising families and paying taxes — will stand behind leadership that secures peace on terms that protect freedom and deter future wars.
