On December 4, 2025, analysts and observers are discussing the increasingly harsh approach of the United States towards the conflict in Ukraine. The focus is on the position of former President Donald Trump and his circle, with serious criticisms being leveled at their actions and intentions.
Failed Attempts at Peace
According to Thomas L. Friedman, columnist for The New York Times, the current US administration is not taking enough measures to end the war in Ukraine. It is claimed that Trump and his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to view the resolution of the conflict as a "big real estate deal." This is the reason for their failures in efforts to achieve peace.
Friedman emphasizes that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin shows no interest in the well-being of the Ukrainian people. The columnist notes that the US administration continues to ignore this fact, which only delays the peace process.
Incompetent Negotiators
Friedman is adamant that including people from the real estate sphere as American negotiators is more of an obstacle than an advantage. According to him, in order to succeed, Trump must turn to politicians who understand the difference between real estate and war.
"Real estate is a positive-sum game: both sides can benefit from a successful deal. And that's the goal. In war and peace, when one side adheres to fascist views and is a clear aggressor, and the other side adheres to democratic views and is a clear victim, you're playing a zero-sum game," writes Friedman.
Dangerous Comparisons and Criticisms
The columnist points out that no American president has approached the issue in the way Trump has. He defines the former leader's current approach to resolving the war in Ukraine as one of the most shameful episodes in American foreign policy.
Friedman criticizes Witkoff for his words that "Putin is not a bad person." He recalls that Russian communists had a term for foreigners who behaved in a similar way towards their leaders - "useful idiots."
Compromises and Reality
Friedman admits that Ukraine will likely have to make concessions to end the war. However, he emphasizes the difference between a "dirty deal" that would allow Putin to increase Russia's profits and resume the war at any moment in the future, and a deal that would allow Russia to keep the territories already conquered, but on the condition that Western armed forces remain on Ukrainian territory to ensure that he can never resume the war.
Lack of Pressure
Friedman believes that the reason why the US cannot put pressure on Putin is that Washington does not know what it is doing. He is convinced that Trump should use all levers of influence on Putin.
According to the columnist, the US could isolate Russia and deal a devastating blow to its economy. He also believes that Washington can turn the Russians against Putin and the entire Kremlin to force him to change course.
Specific Accusations
Friedman claims that Trump has stopped all US funding to Ukraine for the purchase of American weapons, has refused to give it access to vital weapons, such as the Tomahawk cruise missiles, which could have inflicted serious damage on Putin near his borders. In addition, he lied that the war was started by Ukraine, and not by Russia, and that the illegal dictator is the leader of Ukraine, and not of Russia.
Putin as a "huge fool"
The columnist calls Putin a "huge fool who will be remembered for the war against Ukraine." According to him, Russia will likely turn into an energy colony of China, which will go down in history as one of the dictator's main shames.
"Yes, Putin likes to boast about his hypersonic missiles. It is interesting whether they work better than the main launch pad that Russia uses to send cosmonauts and cargo to the International Space Station. I remind you that this launch pad collapsed last week after the launch of three cosmonauts. This means that Russia has lost the ability to launch people into space, which has not happened since 1961," the journalist emphasizes.
The Future of the War
Friedman is convinced that the Russian threat to Ukraine will not end until Putin is gone. However, he is confident that removing him is the task of the Russian people. According to him, the task of the US is to increase the pressure on Putin.
Earlier, former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said that the last few months on the issue of resolving the war in Ukraine have been very tense. According to him, one of the reasons is that President Trump has set his team an almost impossible task - to end the war between two countries that are determined to continue the fight for completely opposite goals.
Daalder believes that Trump runs the US government as a family business - from his workplace in the Oval Office, where he holds meetings with everyone, calls whomever he wants, and then makes decisions about policy at his own discretion. At the same time, his assistants work almost entirely independently.
What will happen if the world powers continue to turn a blind eye to Putin's aggression?