Time for Trump to back Ukraine

If last weekend’s massive Russian aerial bombardment of Ukraine finally convinced Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin has, as he said, “gone absolutely CRAZY!”, it should provide a rare ray of hope amid the conflict.

In recognising the Russian tyrant’s state of mind and ambition to reconstitute the old Soviet empire, Mr Trump must stop prevaricating and help provide Kyiv what it needs to defeat Putin’s outrageous attempt to seize Ukraine and the grotesque human rights abuses he is committing in doing so.

As The Wall Street Journal noted, Mr Trump, in his naivety, “may be the only person in the world still surprised by how Mr Putin is behaving”. An apparently baffled Mr Trump says he has “ always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin but something has happened to him … He is needlessly killing a lot of people (and) I’m not happy”.

Like most malign megalomaniacs, Putin is “crazy”, and has been emboldened by Mr Trump’s indulgence and support since he returned to the White House. Putin has now thrown caution to the wind and embarked on an even more ferocious onslaught against Ukraine and its men, women and children. Mr Trump should not be surprised. The former KGB colonel is behaving as he has for two decades – hellbent on rebuilding as much of the former Soviet Union as he can get away with, and reimposing Russia’s diktat over democratic Ukraine. Only last week, the US leader spoke of an “excellent” two-hour phone call with Putin. It turned out to be a schmooze. Mr Trump’s main adviser on relations with Russia, his golf buddy and fellow property developer Steve Witkoff, has, incredibly, denied Putin’s territorial ambitions. “Why would they want to absorb Ukraine?” Mr Witkoff asked.

If Mr Trump now realises the extent to which he has been played for a fool, he must end his ambivalence over US military aid for Ukraine and get behind legislation proposed by a strong majority in the US Senate that would impose crippling sanctions on Russia.

The bill proposes 100 per cent tariffs on countries dealing with Moscow, including those that buy weapons and cheap Russian oil, such as China and India. Putin’s actions demand no less. Mr Trump is right to be outraged by Russia’s inhumane bombardment of residential areas, including university dormitories and schools in Kyiv and elsewhere. Putin has effectively given the finger to the efforts Mr Trump hoped would bring him the Nobel Peace prize. It is time for him to stop zigzagging and chopping and changing, and unequivocally back Ukraine’s brave battle to defend itself.