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If the US is not funding Ukraine at all, what leverage does Trump have?

Putin sees the end of the war as a threat to his own power — WSJ

According to U.S. intelligence, the Kremlin cannot explain to Russians the enormous losses and expenses, so it is trying to prolong the war for as long as possible. Any negotiations are a risk for Putin.

Economist Anders Åslund argues that Russia is no longer trying to win. A long war benefits it.

If the war ends, two million veterans — including convicts and mobilized prisoners promised freedom — will return home. And all of them will ask one question: what was this for? The Kremlin has no convincing answer.

Historian Mark Galeotti adds that Putin is trapped between fear and uncertainty, and Trump’s proposed peace initiatives only increase the pressure on him.

Putin ignored a well-known rule: don’t start a war you cannot win. The Kremlin may try to claim victory by occupying one Ukrainian region or another, but that won’t be enough.

The so-called goals of the “special military operation” — “denazification,” demilitarization, and preventing Ukraine from joining NATO — are simply unachievable. And the Kremlin certainly knows it.

Black day for the people of Ukraine and a black mark on the American people. Actions, not words, are the currency of change.

Ukraine and Canada both understand that no deal is better than any deal under Trump.