When Trump refuses to name the aggressor, delays sanctions or downplays the stakes, he does more than fail diplomatically; he feeds the very aggression he claims he wants to end.
As Russia’s drones and ballistic missiles tore through the sky above Kyiv on the night of May 23 into the early hours of May 24, the terrifying rhythm of war—alarms, explosions, smoke and sirens—returned to a capital that has learned too well how to survive in darkness. Nearly 300 drones and almost 70 missiles fell across Ukraine, killing at least a dozen civilians, including three children.
Yet, amid the deadliest aerial assault of the war to date, what rose from Washington was not outrage, but near silence. The response from the United States, especially from President Donald Trump who had once promised to end the war in 24 hours, revealed a troubling vacuum of leadership at a moment when the war is escalating, not receding.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a “difficult night for all of Ukraine.” For those in Kyiv, that understatement masked the full horror. Residents huddled in subway stations as missiles rained down and buildings collapsed. Debris blanketed the Obolon district, children were pulled from the rubble and elderly citizens like Olha Chyrukha stood before bombed-out apartments pleading for peace.
But while Ukraine signaled a readiness for talks, solidified by a recent exchange of 800 prisoners by both sides under a 2,000-prisoner deal reached recently in Istanbul, Russia responded with unrelenting violence. And Trump, who had just spoken to Vladimir Putin by phone days earlier, offered no substantive condemnation.
His envoy, Keith Kellogg, managed to post a statement on X without naming Russia or Putin. Trump himself merely said, “I’m not happy with Putin,” as if the bombardment of civilians warranted no stronger response than personal disappointment.
What the past few days have exposed is not just the brutality of Putin’s military strategy, but the diplomatic erosion of U.S. influence under a president more focused on optics than outcomes. The Trump administration’s refusal to impose additional sanctions following the attacks, despite Kyiv’s explicit pleas, speaks volumes.
In Kyiv, Oleskandr, a 64-year-old survivor of the strikes, summed up what many Ukrainians are feeling: “We don’t need talks but weapons, a lot of weapons, to stop them. Because Russia understands only force.” Zelenskyy echoed the urgency, declaring that U.S. inaction is effectively encouraging Putin to escalate, not deescalate.
The notion that Trump could negotiate peace with Putin has always been more theater than strategy. The talks in Istanbul were supposed to be the beginning of a meaningful ceasefire process. Instead, they became the backdrop to renewed terror.
While Ukraine fulfilled its side of the prisoner exchange, Russia used the moment to launch one of its most aggressive campaigns yet, targeting cities from Odesa to Khmelnytskyi, bombing dormitories and family homes and upgrading missiles with radar-decoys to evade Ukrainian defenses.
Meanwhile, Putin has reportedly ordered the creation of a “security buffer zone” along Ukraine’s eastern border, a euphemism that masks imperialist ambitions. This is not the behavior of a regime earnestly pursuing peace; it is the calculus of a leader emboldened by the absence of consequences.
Europe has taken notice. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, have called for maximum pressure on Moscow. But even their condemnation underscores a bleak reality: without strong, coordinated American leadership, Russia sees no reason to change course.
The diplomatic failure of the Trump administration is not just in its disengagement but in its message, intentional or not, that Ukrainian lives are negotiable. The optics of “neutrality” in the face of war crimes do not foster peace; they prolong suffering.
In the days after the air raids, Ukrainians tried to carry on with Kyiv Day celebrations, even as plumes of smoke rose from neighborhoods turned to ash. The war, now stretching into its fourth year, has reached a new phase, one defined by intensified drone warfare, mounting civilian tolls and a widening gap between Ukraine’s pleas and Washington’s responses.
As the frontlines remain mired in stalemate, the war of attrition becomes not just military, but moral.
There is no clearer signal to Moscow than the world’s silence. And the past week has shown that silence from Washington is no longer just a void; it is a permission slip.
When Trump refuses to name the aggressor, delays sanctions or downplays the stakes, he does more than fail diplomatically; he feeds the very aggression he claims he wants to end.
The war in Ukraine will not be won or stopped with hollow declarations or vague discomfort. It will require what Trump has thus far failed to deliver: moral clarity, strategic pressure and a commitment to stand against, not beside, those who bomb children in the night.
Nicholas Lovric is a researcher and consultant specializing in Russian and Eastern European affairs. His work typically involves analyzing political, economic and social trends in the region. His expertise spans subjects such as international relations, geopolitical dynamics, security issues and regional development.
OpEd Column Syndication 