Donald Trump had a long conversation with Putin. They agreed to terms for a ceasefire. The conversation did not include President Zelensky of Ukraine. The U.S.-Russia ceasefire plan was, of course, favorable to the invader. Trump has never felt that it was necessary to find terms that were acceptable to Ukraine.

Putin agreed to stop targeting energy facilities. Hours after agreeing to this, Russia bombed an energy facility, knocking out the energy in one of Ukraine’s major cities.

Viktor Kravchuk is a Ukrainian. He was born in Dnipro and now lives in Kyiv. He is a graphic designer whose posts are found on Substack.

He writes here about “a ceasefire of shame.”

They talked about Ukraine, but Ukraine wasn’t at the table. They spoke of peace, but the bombs kept falling.

They called it a ceasefire, but it’s nothing more than a gift to a war criminal.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had their little phone call, their moment of mutual admiration. Trump, a convicted felon. Putin, a wanted war criminal. And together, they came to an agreement: a ceasefire that Ukraine never asked for, that Ukraine was never even consulted on.

As they spoke, Ukraine was under massive missile attack. This is the “result” of their negotiations.

Trump calls it peace. But do you call it peace when entire families are buried under rubble? When stolen Ukrainian children are still trapped in Russia, renamed, brainwashed, erased? When the invader still occupies your home, your city, your country?

That is not peace. That is submission.

Zelensky accuses Russians of 'cowardly silence' over Dnipro attack

Trump says the war “should never have started”, as if it was some tragic accident. As if Ukraine had a choice in whether its cities were bombed, its women raped, its people abducted. 

The war didn’t merely “start.” Russia attacked. Putin attacked.

And now Trump wants to reward him with a deal. Not a deal for Ukraine. Not a deal for justice. A deal for Putin, so he can stabilize his economy, sell his gas, stockpile his weapons, and prepare for the next round of war.

Can you believe that?

A ceasefire doesn’t mean Russian troops leave. It doesn’t mean war criminals face trial. It doesn’t mean justice for Bucha, for Mariupol, for every city turned to rubble by Russian bombs.

It means Russia gets time. Time to regroup, time to rearm, time to prepare for another slaughter, another invasion, another genocide.

Because let’s take things clear: this is a war of extermination.

Russia doesn’t just want land. It wants Ukraine erased. Our culture, our people, our history. Russia wants Ukraine to stop existing.

And Trump, whether through cowardice or corruption, probably both, is handing Putin exactly what he wants.

Kyiv mourns as rescuers sift piles of rubble at a children's hospital hit by a Russian missile - The Press Democrat

Trump’s plan is simple: protect Russian oil and gas so Putin can keep funding his war. 

Not a word about returning abducted Ukrainian children.

Not a word about stopping Russian missile strikes on civilians.

Not a word about justice for those tortured in the occupied territories.

Because this was never about peace. It was about business.About “huge economic deals.”

About Trump’s personal interests.

About the wealthy few who stand to profit from Russian gas, from war, from suffering.

The mask is off. There is no diplomacy, no neutrality here. This is Trump openly doing Putin’s bidding, propping up a dictator who has spent the last 25 years waging war, silencing dissent, assassinating opponents, killing anyone who stands in his way.

What Happened on Day 13 of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine - The New York Times

We don’t need a ceasefire. We need Russian troops out of Ukraine.

We need war criminals on trial in The Hague. We need the return of every stolen Ukrainian child.

A ceasefire without withdrawal is surrender. Would you call it peace if an intruder broke into your home, killed your family, stole your belongings, then sat down at your table and told you to move on?

A ceasefire without justice tells every dictator that war crimes work. 

That genocide is just a phase of war, not a crime.

A ceasefire without Ukraine at the table is an insult. As if Ukraine is some distant land, not a country of millions of people fighting for their lives.

No, we will not accept a “peace” that lets Russia keep its stolen land, its mass graves, its war crimes. 

No, we will not pretend that Trump and Putin are negotiating peace when they are simply negotiating how best to carve up a nation that refuses to die.

They are making their choices. To accept occupation, to let war crimes go unpunished.

But we also need to make our choice. 

We have already chosen to fight.

If this were your land, what choice would you make?

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