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Guest Essay

By Megan K. Stack

Ms. Stack is a contributing Opinion writer who has reported from Russia and Ukraine.

President-elect Donald Trump is inheriting a blood-soaked war in Ukraine. He has pledged to put a swift end to the carnage.

Mr. Trump hasn’t explained his plan — if, indeed, he has one — but Vice President-elect JD Vance has called for Ukraine to cede captured land to Russia and drop its pleas to join NATO in exchange for peace. Mr. Trump’s national security adviser nominee, Representative Michael Waltz of Florida, has criticized the flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine and called for prompt negotiations, questioning whether the United States should support the complete liberation of Ukraine.

If Mr. Trump follows their advice and pushes Ukraine into talks that result in lost territory, his political rivals as well as hawks in his own party will accuse him of abandoning Ukraine and rewarding Vladimir Putin’s hunger for expansion.

They would be right; there’s no way to sugarcoat it. Ukrainians would be hung out to dry, and Mr. Putin could end up attacking again or expanding his imperial designs to other neighbors.

Mr. Trump should do it anyway.

Dozens of people, and often hundreds, are dying every day in this grinding war. Mr. Trump should seize the chance to save lives. Nobody is coming to save Ukraine. A settlement will eventually be needed.

Despite flashes of spectacular success by Ukrainian forces, the Russian position has gradually strengthened, and there is no reason to expect Mr. Putin to lose the upper hand now. That may sound like defeatism, but it’s also realism. Nor is it a partisan perception — there have long been reports of Biden administration officials quietly trying to nudge Ukraine toward negotiations.

The ambitious 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, meant to cut supply routes between Russia and Crimea (the historically prized, strategically located Ukrainian peninsula captured by Russia in 2014) collapsed. Ukraine managed to capture a few hundred square miles of Russian territory in Kursk last August — but Russia has been slowly clawing the land back. Some 50,000 troops (including 10,000 North Koreans) are now massed in preparation for an attack on Kursk. At the same time, Russia is advancing in the east and south.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is scrambling to find soldiers. After two years and nine months of battle against a behemoth invader, Ukrainian police and conscription officers reportedly trawl subway stations and bars, hunting for recruits. The dependence on Western weapons means that shipments can (and do) get........

© The New York Times