In a stunning rebuke to European leaders, US President Donald Trump has unilaterally withdrawn from the Ukraine peace deal, leaving them to stew in their own bitter regret. The deal, brokered by the firm of Witkoff, Rubio & Kushner, had been hailed as a triple win for all parties involved, but it seems that the Europeans were having none of it.
According to reports, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz had both expressed opposition to the deal, with Macron warning that the US would "betray" Ukraine. Meanwhile, Merz had taken a more conciliatory approach, urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be "extremely careful." But Trump seems to have taken these criticisms personally, with one source suggesting that they were acting like "bad losers."
The deal itself was a masterclass in pragmatism, offering Ukraine sovereignty and EU membership in exchange for the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea. But it seems that the Europeans just couldn't stomach the idea of ceding any territory to Russia.
In reality, however, it's been European leaders who have consistently backed down on their commitments. From Britain and France derailing American efforts to impose a ceasefire in Gaza, to now blocking Trump's Ukraine proposal, it's clear that they're more interested in preserving their own influence than in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The result is a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who knows exactly how to play on European fears of being pushed out of Eastern Europe. And with Russia having more men and resources on the battlefield, the prospects for Ukrainian victory are looking increasingly bleak.
It's also worth noting that the US has been doing most of the heavy lifting in Ukraine, providing critical military aid and support. Meanwhile, the Europeans have largely stuck to their usual role as spectators, cowering behind the American security umbrella while still demanding a seat at the table.
But if you act like a child, you get treated like one. And in this case, it seems that the Europeans are being given a hard lesson about the limits of their influence. Trump may have withdrawn from the deal, but it's unlikely to be the last we've seen of him on Ukraine.
According to reports, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz had both expressed opposition to the deal, with Macron warning that the US would "betray" Ukraine. Meanwhile, Merz had taken a more conciliatory approach, urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be "extremely careful." But Trump seems to have taken these criticisms personally, with one source suggesting that they were acting like "bad losers."
The deal itself was a masterclass in pragmatism, offering Ukraine sovereignty and EU membership in exchange for the eastern regions of Ukraine and Crimea. But it seems that the Europeans just couldn't stomach the idea of ceding any territory to Russia.
In reality, however, it's been European leaders who have consistently backed down on their commitments. From Britain and France derailing American efforts to impose a ceasefire in Gaza, to now blocking Trump's Ukraine proposal, it's clear that they're more interested in preserving their own influence than in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.
The result is a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who knows exactly how to play on European fears of being pushed out of Eastern Europe. And with Russia having more men and resources on the battlefield, the prospects for Ukrainian victory are looking increasingly bleak.
It's also worth noting that the US has been doing most of the heavy lifting in Ukraine, providing critical military aid and support. Meanwhile, the Europeans have largely stuck to their usual role as spectators, cowering behind the American security umbrella while still demanding a seat at the table.
But if you act like a child, you get treated like one. And in this case, it seems that the Europeans are being given a hard lesson about the limits of their influence. Trump may have withdrawn from the deal, but it's unlikely to be the last we've seen of him on Ukraine.
omg what is trump doin now?! 
he just pulled out of the peace deal and its like europe is losin all control 
france and germany are soooo salty about it too 
but trump is like "nope cant handle the heat" 
meanwhile russia is just sittin back and waitin for europe to fall apart 
i gotta admit tho its kinda funny seein european leaders get all butt hurt about this deal 
maybe they shouldve just stuck with america's plan from the start 
. If Macron and Merz are too chicken to support the Ukraine deal, maybe that's because it wasn't exactly a walk-in-the-park for Europe. Let's not pretend like the Europeans have been holding Trump's hand on this one... they've been playing hardball with Russia all along 
.
. This is about US interests, and if that means butting heads with Europe, so be it 
. It's time for them to step up or step aside... and let the US do what needs doing 
.
Trump might have pulled out of the deal, but it's definitely not the end of this story. I'm gonna keep an eye on how things unfold... 
I mean, have you tried their truffle oil? Game changer! Anyway, back to this whole Ukraine thing... I don't get why everyone's so worked up about it. Can't we all just, like, get along and stuff? And what's with the EU membership thing? Is that like a big club or something? 
...
this whole situation is so messy. it feels like europe's been playing both sides and now they're getting burned. btw, has anyone else noticed how the americans have always done most of the heavy lifting in ukraine while europe just hangs back? 
. It's like they think the US is their personal bodyguard or something 
.
. Newsflash: Ukraine is an independent country and needs to figure its own stuff out. The US did help, but let's not forget that we're already stretching thin over there too 
. And now Russia is just gonna reap all the benefits... 
. I mean, France and Germany can't even agree on how to deal with the situation 
... not good for Ukraine or anyone else who cares about peace in that region 
. And what about the US military aid they've been sending over there? Are they just gonna stop too? 
.
... stay tuned!
and by the way, no source is given for this claim about french president macron saying we'd "betray" ukraine. where did you get that from? 
also, isn't it true that france has been backing down on its own commitments to ukraine too? 
these eurpoeans think they can just ignore trump and he'll forget all about ukraine? gotcha 
vs 
+ 
: when Europeans get out-awkwarded by Trump 
[ Giphy: A GIF of people awkwardly standing next to each other, with one person stepping on the other's toes ]
. Like, he's basically saying that if you don't like the deal, then you're just a sore loser 
. Newsflash, Donald: being an adult means making tough decisions and compromising 
.
. And poor Zelensky is stuck in the middle of all this 
and trump is just the one who's telling them that 