The deepening rift between the US and Europe over the Trump administration’s attempts to end the Ukraine war are threatening to cause the greatest crisis the transatlantic alliance has faced in decades. Not since the Suez Crisis of 1956—when American threats ended a joint British-Franco-Israeli military foray in Egypt—have transatlantic relations been so fraught.
With the Western alliance facing challenges on numerous fronts, any sign of division in relations between Europe and the US will be taken as an indication by rival powers that they no longer have anything to fear in terms of Western retaliation.
At the heart of the current dispute between Europe and the United States is US President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to end the Ukraine conflict. While precise details of Trump’s peace offer have not been disclosed, there are growing concerns among European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Trump wants to pressure Kyiv into ceding Ukrainian territory to Moscow as part of the deal.
Not rewarding Russia
After nearly four years of brutal conflict, Zelenskyy is reluctant to hand over land that his soldiers have died defending, and which the Russians have not yet seized. He insists that it is against the Ukrainian constitution to give away territory to a foreign power, and has European allies’ backing. They argue that if Ukraine has to surrender territory, this merely rewards Russian aggression. The Europeans think that if the conflict ends with Russian President Vladimir Putin feeling like he has succeeded, it will just encourage him to be aggressive elsewhere in Europe, which could ultimately lead to a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Trump is more sanguine, arguing that his deal reflects the reality on the battlefield, where Ukrainian forces—despite their heroic efforts—stand little chance of reclaiming territory by Russia in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Trump also the war is at a turning point, with Russia having the advantage (even if this assessment is disputed by most Western military analysts).
As a result, he increased the pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions to prevent further bloodshed. “He’s going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things,” Trump said in an interview with Politico, adding: “When you’re losing—because he’s losing.” The US president, who prides himself on his deal-making, said the process of negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia was particularly difficult because of the deep personal animosity between Zelenskyy and Putin.
