After the February 2022 Russian attack on Ukraine, which the West knew was coming, it took months for Europe and the U.S. to take significant steps to help Ukraine.
Ukraine found itself in a similar position this week.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump seemed to shift blame for the war from Russia to Ukraine. He made the comments while responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s concerns about not being invited to a meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Russian leaders.
Trump said, “Today I heard, ‘Oh, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years (ago). You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Zelenskyy shot back, saying Trump is trapped in a Russian “disinformation bubble.”
Trump responded, calling him a “dictator.” His comments stunned and angered Ukrainians.
“Well, let’s be clear,” said Kyiv resident Sasha, “Ukraine did not start this war. It was Russia who invaded us, first, in 2014, then again in 2022, both times unprovoked.”
The outrage about Trump’s comments has been reflected in media around the world, but, curiously, European leaders have been muted in their public rebukes of Trump’s comments. None have addressed him, personally, for his statements.
Why is that?
Lithuania’s former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the BBC, “There is no need to fight word for word” with Trump. He said, “We need to prepare to fight (Russia) — alone.”
Landsbergis said it is a waste of time to get into a quarrel over something world leaders already know the truth about.
That energy, he suggested, should be focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and the rest of Europe and figuring out how to defend against the next Russian attack.
That’s significant, because most members of NATO believe if Russia is not repudiated by D.C. for its attack on Ukraine, it will happen again.