Wicker: Trump Is Right To Back Ukrainian Victory

President Trump recently made a declaration that his predecessor, President Biden, never summoned the courage to say. He said that Ukraine can win the war Russia inflicted upon it. To support this encouraging statement, President Trump cited Russia's weakening economy and its inability to defeat Ukraine-a much smaller nation-after three-and-a-half years of trying. He called on Europe to redouble support for Ukraine, and he said the United States would continue selling weapons to NATO, which could arm the Ukrainians defending their homeland.

I agree with the president's assessment. All year, he has opened the door for the aggressor, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, to make peace. With one hand, Putin has signaled interest in these negotiations. But with the other, he has directed increasingly barbaric attacks on Ukraine. Putin is a war criminal who cannot be trusted to make peace. But as his economy weakens and Europe's military strength increases, he could be persuaded that the war is no longer in his interests.

Ukraine Can Win

Ukrainians have given President Trump good reason to think they can win. When Putin launched his invasion in February 2022, many people expected Ukraine to collapse. Russia's population is three times the size of Ukraine's. Its military is larger and more advanced. The world predicted that the democratically elected government in Kyiv would fall in a matter of days.

And yet, the Ukrainian armed forces have been valiant and resourceful. For over 1,300 grueling days, they have kept Russia from swallowing their country. In 2022, commentators misjudged both Ukraine's resolve and Russia's power. Now, observers are reassessing. President Trump summarized it well, saying, "Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a war that should have taken a real military power less than a week to win."

Putin Rejects Peace

Even though Putin has been unable to achieve his military goals, he refuses to engage honestly in peace talks. In February, President Trump and Putin discussed ending the war. Despite that conversation, Putin upped the ante. He marked the third anniversary of the invasion by launching what was then his largest drone strike of the conflict.

The next month, the Ukrainians agreed to a ceasefire-a remarkable step since theirs is the country being attacked. Putin responded with more terrorism. He showered drones and ballistic missiles into a residential neighborhood, even hitting a children's playground. In that strike, Putin killed nine children.

Over the summer, President Trump and the Ukrainians remained committed to peace. Meanwhile, Putin continued bombing civilians. In May and July, Putin exceeded his drone strike record three times. Last month, he rained down the largest attack yet, dropping more than 800 Russian drones onto civilians, neighborhoods, and government buildings. This summer, President Trump correctly summarized Putin's lies, saying he "talks nice and then he bombs everybody."

Arm Ukraine To the Teeth

Putin has only escalated, even as his economy weakens. Ukrainians have shown that they can repel Russia's invasion, but only when they have the tools to do the job. Those facts undoubtedly led President Trump to make his recent statement.

At the end of his comments, President Trump included an important point: He will continue allowing NATO to buy American-made weapons, which will support Ukraine. Selling NATO our weapons will support American jobs and help rebuild our defense industrial base. Most importantly, it will impose severe costs on Putin and help Ukraine's chances for victory.