Portside

How to build a just green future

London and Washington were right about the Russian invasion, but failed to persuade European powers. They underestimated Ukrainian resistance and overestimated Russian power, just as Putin had. Four years later, the war continues.

Some of Russia’s maximalist demands have been removed from original 28-point proposal drawn up last month by Vladimir Putin’s special envoy and Trump’s representative Steve Witkoff. European leaders warn that no deal can be reached quickly.

Trump thinks of himself as an unstoppable force. But Putin is an unmovable object who won’t be bullied because he is the ultimate bully.

The NATO issue did not trigger the war. However, the thoughtless expansion of NATO contributed to a climate of mistrust that was a factor in Russia’s moving in an aggressive, nationalist direction. But there are two more parts to the story.

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Some fear disaster, others calmly accept a new reality in U.S.-Ukraine relations. The treatment of Ukraine’s president by Trump and Vance has produced a presumably unintended consequence: It has unified a war-weary Ukrainian people.

A 180° turn remaps world politics

Today marked one of the grimmest days in the history of American diplomacy.

Trump’s pitiful pivot to Putin has awakened two sleeping giants—Republican opposition and European unity.