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At first, Trump seemed to take a strong stance regarding Ukraine. Following issuing threats of "significant consequences" in August if Putin carried on blocking peace discussions, he finally imposed substantial penalties on Russia's primary oil companies, these major energy companies. This decision seriously hindered Putin's capacity to fund his military invasion in Ukraine.

Yet, through his newly presented 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, which was created by American and Russian diplomats lacking Ukrainian or European input, Trump has clearly reverted to his favorable to Russia stance.

Favoring Aggression

Trump's proposal would in practice favor the Russian leader for invading a sovereign nation while placing the country's political freedom in jeopardy. Although ringing proclamations that "Ukraine's autonomy will be confirmed", much of the proposal in reality undermine that essential sovereignty. Seen as a Kremlin dream would probably be a disaster for Ukraine.

Reflecting his real-estate background, the former president continues to view the Ukrainian conflict as a basic territorial dispute, implying handing Russia a section of Ukraine's territory will satisfy the leader. But, Putin's invasion is not only about controlling a damaged region of economically weakened land in the Donbas region. Rather, it is about the nation's democratic governance – and the Russian leader's clear desire to weaken it so it no longer functions as an appealing standard for the Russia's population of the responsible governance that his deepening dictatorship denies them.

Border Giveaways

While keeping in position the already divided Ukrainian provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the proposal would require Ukraine to give up all of this eastern territory. In addition to rewarding Russia with land that its forces have been failed to seize in exceeding a ten years of conflict, this surrender would make Ukrainian defenses critically weakened.

The area is the place of the nation's much-vaunted "fortress belt", the fortified military defenses that constitute a key barrier to invading forces. Trump would have Ukraine abandon these positions, giving Russian forces a unobstructed path to the capital in case he eventually decide to renew the hostilities.

Military Limitations

Then, in a move that would make additional conflict simpler for the Russian military, the plan would require the nation to diminish the scale of its troops from their existing large number personnel to a limit of this lower number. Significantly, the plan places no similar constraints on the invading army.

Seemingly as a gesture to Russia's attempts to portray the nation's legitimate administration as extremists, Trump's plan states: "Every radical doctrine and activities must be condemned and forbidden." Apparently to underscore this aspect, it requires that "Ukraine will hold democratic votes in three months" of a peace deal. Meanwhile, the proposal places no requirement that Putin jeopardize his authoritarian rule by allowing votes in Russia.

Defense Assurances

Certainly, the plan includes Russia commit not to "attack other states" and to "incorporate in legislation its policy of non-aggression towards European nations and Ukraine". However given that the Russian leadership has broken comparable treaties in the history – for example the Budapest accord, in which the Russian government pledged to recognize the nation's sovereignty in exchange for surrendering its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal, and the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements, in which Moscow agreed to a truce and a handback of seized territory in eastern Ukraine to the government – for what reason should the international community have confidence in Russia now?

This explains Ukraine has been so insistent on western protection assurances. While the initiative promises a "immediate joint armed reaction" should Russia renew its aggression, and states that "Ukraine will receive strong protection assurances", the particulars vary from vague to troubling. The proposal would not only deny the nation alliance membership but also prohibit member states from positioning forces on the nation's land, effectively blocking the reassurance force, likely headed by the UK and France, on which the Ukrainian government had been counting to prevent Russia from rebuilding his weakened forces, restocking, and reinvading.

World Response

A separate supplementary accord reportedly would offer Ukraine with a similar to NATO protection assurance, in which any future "major, planned, and ongoing aggression" by the Russian Federation on the country "will be treated as an act of war threatening the stability and safety of the allied countries." This implies a defense action. However different from a powerful Ukraine's armed forces – the nation's primary protection against future hostilities – the credibility of the side agreement would hinge on the willingness of Western powers, including the US administration, to respond with force to Russia's aggression, an action they have {not