Russian forces launched a massive overnight drone barrage that struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure and plunged swaths of the country into emergency blackouts, even as Kyiv scrambled to shoot down scores of incoming unmanned weapons. Ukraine’s air force and national energy operator reported dozens of drones and missile impacts, a grim reminder that the Kremlin is doubling down on a scorched-earth strategy aimed at civilian life and critical services. This isn’t a contained skirmish — it’s an escalation that threatens Europe’s stability and tests Western resolve.
Against that backdrop, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it plain he will not hand over Ukrainian soil to Vladimir Putin, saying his people have no legal or moral authority to cede land seized by the aggressor. Zelenskyy’s stance, voiced after meetings with European leaders in London, is the only defensible position for a sovereign nation that has already paid a horrific price to hold its territory. Americans who believe in national sovereignty should respect Kyiv’s refusal to legitimize conquest, even as diplomats push for compromises no one can pretend are cost-free.
Washington’s push for a peace framework has injected raw politics into the talks, with envoys meeting both Kyiv and Moscow and a draft that reportedly included territorial concessions to Russia drawing sharp criticism. The Trump administration’s envoys have engaged directly with both sides, and leaked elements of the proposal alarmed European capitals and many in Kyiv who see any forced territorial swap as rewarding aggression. This is diplomacy in the real world — messy and dangerous — but it cannot become an excuse to abandon principle or hand Putin a victory.
Conservatives should be clear-eyed: pursuing peace is commendable, but peace that rewards conquest is capitulation. President Trump and his team can be applauded for trying to end an endless war, but no American leader should broker a deal that legitimizes Putin’s land grabs or invites future aggression. Real peace requires security guarantees, verifiable withdrawals, and firm enforcement measures, not ambiguous language that allows Moscow to claim legitimacy for what it stole.
Meanwhile, Europe must stop treating its own security as an exercise in moral posturing and start paying its fair share — in money, systems, and men if necessary. The Kremlin is testing whether Western democracies have the backbone to defend the rules-based order; wavering now only invites more drone swarms, more blackouts, and more bloodshed. If Europeans expect American taxpayers to underwrite the continent’s defense forever, they’re dreaming; the transatlantic partnership must be a partnership in fact, not just in rhetoric.
Back here at home, Republicans and conservatives should demand clarity from the White House and Congress about what any deal would actually secure for Ukraine and America’s strategic interests. We owe Ukrainian courage our support, but support without clear limits, oversight, and a plan to deter future Russian aggression is not leadership — it’s throwing good money after a vague promise. Make no mistake: strength plus clear terms beats empty declarations every time.
Patriots know that liberty must be defended, not negotiated away at a conference table while our adversaries plot the next strike. Today’s drone salvo is a warning: appeasement never brings lasting peace, it only delays the next war. If we insist on ending this conflict, do it from a position of strength that protects allies, punishes aggression, and makes plain that sovereign nations cannot be carved up with impunity.
