Ukraine deal has worry written all over it

The beginning of talks aimed at some sort of end to conflict, we dare not say peace, between Ukraine and Russia is cause of great concern for those of us who have urged the U.S. and the Western world to do all that is possible to achieve victory over totalitarianism.

The Trump administration’s preference for bringing a swift, if costly, end to the fighting is the order of the day, and our best hope now is that Ukraine will not be required to give up too much and Russia too little in the bargain being struck.

We still believe it was a mistake for President Donald Trump to fail to name the Russian regime as an enemy of human freedom and to instead pursue a path that we fear will end in temporary appeasement.

To ensure it doesn’t, Ukraine must insist on, and the U.S. must support, the presence of NATO peacekeeping troops in Ukraine as a red line against a repeat of Russian aggression.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about peace, and we don’t believe he is, then having troops in Ukraine represents a mutual assurance that Ukrainians will be defended and that the cost of reinvasion will be even higher for Russia.

While we wish that Ukraine weren’t forced to the negotiating table in a position of weakness, a silver lining did emerge Tuesday when the Trump administration decided to resume military and intelligence aid as part of a proposed 30-day ceasefire that still needs Russian approval.

Still the signal of ongoing aid is critical for Ukraine but more so for Russia, as it indicates that we might not abandon Ukraine after all.

We know that Putin, mindless of the cost to his own nation, was always willing to grind out a war of attrition.

Given adequate support, we believe Ukraine could endure and even emerge with victory, weakening Putin and giving the whole free world a boost.

We may now never know if that is possible. It all depends on what happens in a negotiation with a tyrant.

— The Dallas Morning News