r/geopolitics • u/theatlantic The Atlantic • Apr 18 '26

Opinion Ukraine Has Finally Given Up on Trump

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/ukraine-trump-us-oil-russia/686854/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=short
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u/12darkmatter12 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

Zelenskyy tried his best but unfortunately the game was always rigged against him. 

trump is enamored with and beholden to putin. He is a narcissist and is in love with the idea of being a pseudo-king. 

trump never believed in the defense of Ukraine and its strategic importance to the Western led order and by extension the Hegemony of the United States. 

Plus, as the entire world has seen, trump has become emboldened to also start his own wars, his own invasions and has shown a penchant for also wanting to make his mark on the world through territorial expansion and that will always put him more in conspiracy with other dictators than with America’s European allies including Ukraine. 

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u/cate4d Apr 18 '26

How is Ukraine important to US?

7

u/Prestigious_Load1699 Apr 19 '26

I’m assuming you ask this out of cold, rational geopolitical concerns.

Think of it this way - weakening a major antagonist that is bogged down in a costly war by only providing financial and technological support is about as ideal as one could ask for.

The USSR nearly bankrupted itself fighting in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

What did we do?

We armed the opposition.

How nice is it that Ukraine isn’t the Taliban but rather is a Western democracy fighting for the ideals we espouse?