On Nov. 16, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listened on speakerphone to an unfamiliar voice. This new interlocutor, speaking with a reedy U.S. accent, had a plan for Zelensky: a series of bullet points, all approved by the U.S. president, for what Zelensky would have to do to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.

The list of demands ran on and on. There were new limits Ukraine would have to place on its military, preventing Ukraine from ever matching Russia’s battlefield advantages. There was the reality that Ukraine would have to give up any dreams of ever joining NATO. There were the revelations that, even as Ukraine’s ability to defend itself shrank, Russia would see sanctions soon lifted, and that Moscow would once more be welcomed into the geopolitical fold, as if the war had never happened.

On Nov. 16, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listened on speakerphone to an unfamiliar voice. This new interlocutor, speaking with a reedy U.S. accent, had a plan for Zelensky: a series of bullet points, all approved by the U.S. president, for what Zelensky would have to do to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.

This article is adapted from United States of Oligarchy: How America’s Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy by Casey Michel (St. Martin’s Press, 384 pp., $31, August 2026).

The list of demands ran on and on. There were new limits Ukraine would have to place on its military, preventing Ukraine from ever matching Russia’s battlefield advantages. There was the reality that Ukraine would have to give up any dreams of ever joining NATO. There were the revelations that, even as Ukraine’s ability to defend itself shrank, Russia would see sanctions soon lifted, and that Moscow would once more be welcomed into the geopolitical fold, as if the war had never happened.

But that wasn’t all. As this new voice instructed Zelensky, Ukraine would have to finally, formally give up not just Crimea, but all of the Donbas—including territory that Russia hadn’t even occupied. After years of fighting, and after millions of casualties, Ukraine would have to cede territory—and abandon Ukrainian populations—that Russia never conquered.

The proposals were beyond anything Zelensky or his administration had ever heard. They went beyond anything anyone outside Moscow had ever proposed. The demands effectively gelded Ukraine, ensuring that Kyiv would remain forever prone to Russia. Indeed, they read less as a list of negotiated points, and more as a wish list of outcomes straight from the Kremlin.

Which is exactly what........

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