Early Thursday morning, Russia fired 70 missiles directly at Kyiv. And sent 70 armed drones toward the Ukrainian capital. It didn’t please President Donald Trump. Or Sen. Dan Sullivan.
But they’re not necessarily on the same page.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV” Trump wrote on his social media site around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
But it’s not a peace deal. Putin has made a mockery of Trump’s supposed world-class negotiating skills.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recognizes that. He rejects the idea of ceding ownership of Crimea. Russia violated international law when it seized the peninsula in 2104.
The following year, Sullivan voted in favor for expanded “sanctions against Russia” partly in “response to its violation of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine and Crimea.”
Until Trump began these negotiations, the U.S. had refused to recognize Russia’s claim on Crimea. The European Union still refuses to.
Earlier this month, Sullivan joined Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to introduce “a comprehensive sanctions package against Russia that puts Putin on notice and gives the administration additional tools and leverage to end this war and find a workable peace.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski is one of its 54 co-sponsors. About half of them are Republicans.
There’s also a House version with 19 co-sponsors, including nine Republicans. Rep. Nick Begich III isn’t one of them.
The Senate bill would require Russia “engage in good faith negotiations.” And seeks to establish a policy to “prevent another military invasion or act that undermines the sovereignty of Ukraine,” including providing them with “credible defensive and deterrent capability.”
However, neither bill has advanced beyond the committees to which they’ve been referred.
While Joe Biden was president, Sullivan consistently argued the U.S. should do more to help Ukraine defend itself. And consistent with the UN Charter that prohibits the threat or use of force to seize the territory of another nation, he and almost everyone else agreed Russia must give up any Ukrainian land it seized during the war.
Trump’s deal does neither. By demanding Ukraine give up 20% of its country, he’s rewarding Putin with spoils from an invasion. And its supposedly robust security guarantee describes no U.S. role at all.
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance told both sides if they refuse to accept the framework, they should expect “the United States to walk away from this process.” That didn’t impress Putin. He escalated the war with the attack on Kyiv.
For his part, Sullivan seems to be quietly hanging out in the bleachers. But he can’t be pleased with the direction Trump has taken this. Tom Nichols, a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, argues the deal “would functionally destroy Ukraine” and make it “an easy target for the Kremlin” once Russia’s economy and troops recover.
But Sullivan shouldn’t be surprised either. Trump has never shown much respect for Zelenskyy. In February, he orchestrated an Oval Office press conference primarily to humiliate him. And more than once suggested he started the war.
And he’s always displayed a troubling fondness for Putin. He initially called him a genius for invading Ukraine.
Giving Putin Crimea, along with the territories he’s seized since the invasion, is nothing short of appeasement.
That’s a word Sullivan used to describe Biden’s policies toward Iran. It also applies to the way he and his party sold their souls and ceded their congressional powers to Trump.
They can’t be happy with their returns they’ve earned. Instead of ‘making America great again,’ Trump has showered us in shame. In three short months, he pardoned people who the whole world saw violently attack the U.S. Capitol four years ago. Threatened the sovereignty of allies. And began a deportation program that even judges he appointed have said violates the law. His so-called “Liberty Day” tariffs would have made us the laughingstock of the world if it hadn’t posed such a threat to the global economy.
Congress should move forward with their Russian sanction bills. It should force Trump put to Ukraine’s sovereignty and U.S. interests ahead of Russia’s. And show him that they have the power to hold him accountable.
• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
