During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump presented himself as a peacemaker. Thus, his inauguration became the start of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

However, Russia does not seem interested in a deal, and it is sticking to its maximalist demands that go far beyond Ukraine to recasting the whole global order in its favor. The current dilemma is how to bring it to the negotiation table on terms favoring the West.

The Biden administration believed that continuing the war in Ukraine was degrading the Russian army by killing large numbers of Russian recruits. It never absorbed the lesson of the Vietnam War that countries are willing to sacrifice large numbers of their citizens for a significant strategic goal.

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