Washington Post columnist David Ignatius authored a hopeful column on Thursday examining signs of a potential peace deal in Ukraine, a development that he notes may have been influenced by President Donald Trump.
The headline for Ignatius’ column wondered, “Has Trump found a path to peace in Ukraine?” — a rare sign of optimism from the Washington Post opinion section regarding Trump.
The Post columnist claimed that there are “some signs of progress” being reported by U.S., European and Ukrainian officials on a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine as the war drags on for the third year.
“There’s movement, if not yet agreement, toward the essential land-for-peace formula that would frame any pact,” Ignatius wrote, adding, “Russia would continue to administer the five regions it occupies, though Ukraine wouldn’t formally cede sovereignty in any of them.”
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The column claimed that while Ukraine will not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) under a potential ceasefire deal, Russia would accept Ukraine’s right to a postwar “robust security guarantee,” which, according to Ignatius, is “understood by all” to mean European troops.
The United States would reportedly act as a “guarantor of a ceasefire agreement and the postwar security of Ukraine and its European partners,” as well as provide continued intelligence support to ensure Kyiv and its allies would have advanced warning of any renewed Russian attack.
“European countries want a U.S. ‘backstop’ for their postwar ‘deterrent force’ to clarify that Trump would provide aid if Russia attacked. European officials assume that their commitment of forces would have America’s blessing and support, but they don’t yet have an explicit assurance — and without one, they might not send troops,” Ignatius claimed.
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The column touched on Trump’s social media posts about the potential ceasefire earlier this week when he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “GET IT DONE,” but also assured Zelenskyy that ‘nobody is asking’ him to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
Ignatius also acknowledged Trump scolding Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media Thursday after Russia’s overnight bombardment of Ukraine’s capital, telling Putin to “STOP” the bombings.
“I take Trump at his word when he says he wants to stop the ‘horrible bloodbath’ in Ukraine. In September, in his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he pledged to ‘negotiate a deal’ and ‘stop all of these human lives from being destroyed,’” the Post columnist said.
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Ignatius asserted that Trump must “couple this hunger for a ceasefire” with strong security guarantees for Ukraine that would be “credible” enough to prevent Russia from invading again.
“Trump isn’t there yet, but he’s getting closer,” the columnist concluded.