What did Donald Trump do today?

He presented Ukraine with an ultimatum for a "peace deal" that Russia wrote.

Although he bragged on the campaign trail that he'd be able to do it on "day one," Trump has completely failed to broker a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine—in spite of all but switching the United States' side in the middle of the war. Today, he offered Ukraine yet another ultimatum, demanding that its government accept a 28-point plan by next Thursday or have the United States completely withdraw its military support.

The "new" plan is much like Trump's last few attempts to broker a deal. Like those previous proposals, it gives the Putin regime all of the portions of Ukraine it's seized through force, and then some. It forces Ukraine to stand down its army, enters it into an exploitative agreement with the United States for the extraction of mineral resources, and forces it to supply Russia with electricity. It also richly rewards both the Russian state and the Putin regime with the end of sanctions and readmission into the G8 group of nations. And, as with the previous proposals, it concedes more to Russia than Russia has been able to take by force or threat.

In summary, it amounts to a complete surrender by Ukraine in all but name. For obvious reasons, the Putin regime is delighted by it, and has said so publicly.

There is one new twist to Trump's latest plan, however—or at least one that hadn't been noticed in previous drafts: it was apparently written directly by Russians. The English-language draft shows clear evidence of having been translated directly (and awkwardly) from a Russian-language original—even though, supposedly, the U.S. State Department and Trump's dubiously qualified personal envoy Steve Witkoff were the ones brokering the deal. 

If that had been the case, it would have been written in standard English first and then translated into Ukrainian and Russian. Pressed on the point, the White House admitted that the text had been written with the "help" of Russian envoy Kirill Dimitriev—and no Ukrainian counterpart.

In other words, Trump is pressuring Ukraine to accept its "mediation" to end the war by restating Russia's demands. 

Trump is financially and politically beholden to the Putin regime. But Americans outside of the Trump White House overwhelmingly favor continuing support for Ukraine.

Why does this matter?

• American foreign policy should reflect what Americans want, not what Vladimir Putin wants. 

• A president who is compromised in any way by a hostile foreign power is not fit to serve. 

• Betraying an ally like this is disgraceful.