Zelenskyy And EU Leaders To Meet With Trump After Dismal Alaska Summit

Forbes

18 hours ago

On Friday, August 15th, 2025, in Alaska, Americans saw a shameful moment. On U.S. soil, Donald Trump laid out a red carpet, received applause, embraced, and invited Vladimir Putin, an indicted war criminal, for a ride in the presidential limousine. Putin, soaked in blood and defying every principle America once claimed to uphold, was treated not as a pariah but as an honoured guest. It will now be up to Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and EU leaders to repair things in Washington meetings on Monday.
Who Is Putin?
Putin is not a partner for peace. He is the architect of the deadliest war in Europe since 1945. Under his command, over a million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, with a thousand more dying or being injured each day. Putin bears responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians who have been slaughtered, maimed, tortured, or forced to flee their homes.
Entire cities lie in ruins. Dams have been bombed, leaving behind an environmental catastrophe. Nuclear facilities have been attacked, risking global security. Ukrainian churches, schools, hospitals, and museums have been mercilessly bombed into dust. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted, deported, and forced into programs designed to erase their language, culture, and identity.
Yet in Alaska, Trump welcomed him. At that moment, America transformed an international outcast into a guest of honour.
The Arresting Spectacle
Trump waited as Putin deplaned, clapping as he approached. He shook his hand, embraced him, and welcomed him into the presidential limousine. The spectacle was carried out with breathtaking emptiness, revealing American values while glorifying Putin's brutality. The display sent a chilling message. The hidden messages were ominous. To Russia: the killing machine may continue unchecked. To Ukraine: the dead and wounded no longer draw American solidarity. To despots everywhere: commit atrocities on a large enough scale, and one day you too may ride in the limousine of the American president.
Betrayal of American Ideals
America fought a War of Independence not just to break away from the British crown, but to uphold the ideals of liberty, justice, and self-determination. Jefferson's words—'all men are created equal'—were intended as a pact with history, a vow that America would never support tyranny but always stand with those whose rights are suppressed.
George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned the nation to 'avoid entangling alliances with despots' and to beware of leaders who erode moral foundations. These warnings were not merely ignored in Alaska; they were betrayed on the very soil Washington's army fought to liberate.
Is this what Lincoln fought for? Is this how we honour the courage of those who stormed Normandy or bled at Iwo Jima?
America Once Knew Better
Franklin Roosevelt never rolled out a red carpet for Hitler. Instead, he rallied the free world and declared the United States the Arsenal of Democracy. Ronald Reagan never invited a Soviet tyrant into a limousine. He stood at the Brandenburg Gate and thundered: 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'
Yesterday in Alaska, Trump negated that legacy. He humiliated America and elevated Putin, turning an international pariah into a partner, a criminal into a statesman.
Let us remember: Russia is an imperial empire, just as America once fought against one for its independence.
A Catastrophe for Ukraine
For Ukraine, the Alaska meeting was heartbreaking. That very day, as Putin smiled for the cameras beside Trump, Russian bombs struck Kharkiv, Odesa, and Kyiv. Ukraine experienced no ceasefire, no new sanctions, no promises of aid—only betrayal.
And yet, resilience persists. According to Canadians Chrystia Stodilka-Curkowskyj and Irena Hlywa, just returned from Lviv, Ukraine, the spirit of defiance remains unbroken. Each morning at dawn, young people gather at blood bank trucks to donate blood for soldiers at the front. At 9 a.m., a moment of silence reminds everyone of those who sacrificed their lives and those still fighting for Ukraine. Churches overflow with parishioners praying for loved ones and victory. Even elderly warriors kneel alongside the young, determined to see their nation survive. Funeral processions pass by en route to cemeteries where newly fallen soldiers are laid to rest. Their coffins are carried by military brigades and saluted by soldiers as family members and friends weep. A young woman told Stodilka-Curkowskyj that her father, brother, and fiancé were all at the front—and that she planned to join them. This is the resilience holding the line. This is the resilience of Ukraine.
The Burden on Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now faces the fallout from the Alaska summit. It is his responsibility to remind Trump of the vision he previously outlined: the potential for a ceasefire, the urgent need to halt the violence, the importance of prisoner exchanges, and the return of abducted Ukrainian children—a cause Melania Trump has supported, along with the serious consequences Trump once assured Russia.
This is the direction Trump needs to be urged to follow. Meanwhile, Congress must act to keep American arms flowing to Ukraine, honouring the guarantee made in Budapest to support Ukraine's sovereignty and independence in exchange for Ukraine's transfer of its nuclear arsenal to Russia in 1994. European leaders, including leaders from France, Britain and Germany, are also expected to be present with him.
A National Humiliation
The Alaska meeting doesn't belong in the history of American diplomacy. It belongs among the country's shameful moments. It joins the failures of Iraq, the chaos of Afghanistan, and every other time when the nation compromised its values.
But Alaska was worse. It wasn't a mistake or misjudgment. It was a clear decision: to support a war criminal, to praise mass murder, to betray the ideals of freedom for the sake of a different goal that would elevate Trump.
History will not forget. The world will not forgive. And one day, when the record is read, the question will remain: when evil appeared on American soil, why did America applaud?
The Choice Ahead
This is not just about Alaska; it is about the kind of nation America chooses to be. Every generation faces a test: to uphold the values fought for by its ancestors or to abandon them. The question is whether America still stands for freedom, whether the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights still hold significance for Americans, and whether they remain living documents. It will be up to Zelenskyy and EU leaders to remind America of its legacy.