CIA director issues warning about Ukraine if it fails to achieve an 'enduring peace'

Donald Trump's rapprochement with the Kremlin's positions and his snubs toward Ukraine are making many Americans uncomfortable.

Putin's deception: he wants all military aid to Ukraine to stop in exchange for 'peace'
The list of ceasefire agreements violated by Russia and pro-Russian forces in Ukraine

It's no longer just a matter of the current US president's willingness to accept something unjust and immoral, such as the fact that Vladimir Putin's dictatorship profited from invading Ukraine and committing numerous war crimes and crimes against the Ukrainian people, something that is unacceptable to anyone with a shred of decency who isn't blinded by their affinity for Trump.

Trump's willingness only serves to encourage the Russian dictator's thuggish attitude, and Western intelligence services are aware of the implications this could have for peace and security in the West. I include US services, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which handles foreign intelligence.

This Tuesday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, a personal friend of Trump, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee (the video can be seen here). During his appearance, Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas asked Ratcliffe a question that is likely on many people's minds, about the risks the US could face if Russia achieves all its objectives in the talks with Trump on Ukraine. In response, Ratcliffe made the following observation:

Generally, the public assessment is that Russia has the battlefield advantage, is grinding forward slowly. However, I want to say that with regard to the Ukrainian resistance, the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military have been underestimated for a period of several years now. And ultimately, from my reflections in observing, from an intelligence standpoint, I'm convinced that they will fight with their bare hands if they have to, if they don't have terms that are acceptable to an enduring peace.

It's about time someone remembered this. Trump is negotiating with Russia as if he were talking about dividing up a private property, as if Ukraine were a US colony obliged to accept whatever the White House dictates, and without exerting much pressure on Russia, the invading country. So far, and as was predictable (except for the naive who believe Trump is a genius and that all his actions are part of a brilliant master plan that only he knows), what the current US administration has done is appease Russia and give it hope of capitalizing on its invasion. It's not a brilliant plan: it's a shameful capitulation.

Ukraine has been fighting heroically against the invaders for three years and will continue to do so even if Trump continues to betray the cause of the Ukrainian people and even if he decides to sign an unjust peace with Moscow that only serves to postpone the war for a few months or years.

Ukraine has no intention of surrendering, and if the White House doesn't want to understand this, then they have a problem, because reality won't change just because Trump doesn't like it. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom and sovereignty and will continue to do so, and the only thing Trump can decide is whether to support them or betray them, but not to stop them from fighting for what belongs to them.

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Photo: Valerie Plesch / The Washington Post.