Trump's Munich

November 20, 2025

(This is a slightly tardy and abbreviated newsletter written in response to the sudden news that the US and Russia have devised a “peace deal” to impose on Ukraine and Europe.)

The 1938 Munich Agreement saw Britain and France force Czechoslovakia to cede the German-speaking Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. This solved nothing and merely whetted Hitler’s appetite, and led to a full-blown war in Europe for years. Likewise, on November 18, Reuters reported that the US has devised a “peace” plan — with Russia — to end the war. It would, like Munich, require Ukraine to relinquish territory and weapons, reduce the size of its military armed forces, stay out of NATO indefinitely, and merely serve to set the stage for a bigger conflict.

Significantly, neither Ukraine nor the rest of Europe was involved in drafting this new plan, as also happened in 1938. The result back then was a disaster that led to the conquest of Czechoslovakia. And, if undertaken now, it will allow Vladimir Putin to do the same. This is not a ceasefire, nor a peace deal, but Trump asks Ukraine to capitulate after being invaded by Russia without provocation, and suffering hideous casualties and damage. Treacherously, this plan imposes absolutely no guardrails, concessions, or reparations on Russia. To date, Moscow has not officially acknowledged that such a plan has been prepared or that it participated, but this week, Putin unleashed his biggest attack yet on Ukrainian civilians.

The $100-million kickback scandal engulfing President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine contributed to this sudden turn of events. Sources told the Kyiv Independent: “During previous rounds of talks, the Kremlin had softened some of its maximalist demands, limiting its focus to territorial concessions from Ukraine. The demands previously dropped, however, seem to be resurfacing. The Kremlin has hardened its maximalist conditions, sensing Ukraine’s worsening position on the front lines and exploiting the fallout from a major corruption scandal involving people close to President Volodymyr Zelensky.”

The scandal, which I wrote has Russian fingerprints all over it, has also triggered a confidence crisis among Ukraine’s allies as well as a political crisis inside Ukraine. Opposition leaders demand that a coalition government be formed. The Europeans are upset about the corruption, but also greatly concerned that the Trump deal precludes the creation of their providing a “security guarantee” to Kyiv to prevent future incursions. In Washington, the tide has also turned, and the highest-level Ukrainian supporter in the White House announced he will resign when news broke. Then, on November 19, a high-level American delegation arrived in Kyiv and will be meeting in the coming days with Ukrainian politicians, officials, and Zelensky.

As of today, the future of Ukraine and Europe hangs in the balance. Trump’s “peace” proposals are at best naive and possibly vindictive, and at worst evidence of complicity with Russia. If enacted, Trump’s plan would expose Ukraine and the rest of the continent to future Russian aggression. Another “peace in our time” debacle is about to unfold.