Trump has finally abandoned the West for Putin. This is what the UK and Europe must do next

Donald Trump is planning to have “peace talks” about Ukraine without Ukraine in China with Vladimir Putin. He has said that Kyiv needs to be represented by someone other than Volodymyr Zelensky. The ideas are mad, bad, and dangerous for Europe.

This is the moment when the West must stand apart and stand up to the US administration. Russia’s president has a proxy in the White House who seemingly acts entirely and only in the interests of Russia.

The Kremlin is an active enemy to Europe, and beyond. And so it is time for Nato’s European countries, Canada, Japan, South Korea and for the leaders of the free-thinking world to shut down and stop Trump’s ludicrous plan.

He, his secretary of state and “secretary of war” have all insisted that the US has given “hundreds of billions” to Ukraine’s war effort and “got nothing back”. The US has not given that much and, since Trump came to power, has given no military aid. Joe Biden gave and authorised about $127bn. Europe and the UK have given about $260bn in assistance.

Russia in Ukraine is Europe’s most pressing problem. That makes Trump’s efforts on the part of Russia the act of an enemy.

It means that European leaders have to stand up and say so. They have to ring the emergency bells. They will have to explain to their populations that are already roiling across the continent in riots and protests (amplified by Russian social media manipulation) that taxes will have to go up and sacrifices will have to be made to help Ukraine survive American sabotage.

Trump’s regime has tied off the two things that have been a contribution to Ukraine’s defence. It has stopped the intelligence feed it had been providing to enable, among other things, Kyiv to get early warning of missile attacks from Russia.

It has also slowed the speed at which Starlink terminals can move through the air to 160kmph – which scuppers their use in air defence missiles and drones on the battlefield.

To remove support over the long term, as Trump has, is a betrayal of Ukraine and of the US’s allies.

To have strangled intelligence and crippled weapons on the battlefield is an act of sabotage. The Trump administration has demanded that Ukraine fold to Russian demands and enabled Russian missiles to kill Ukrainians to try to force Kyiv to its knees.

The Trump administration is now part of Russia’s campaign against Western democracies that fall “below the threshold” of conventional war. His actions over the last month are part of the Kremlin’s continuing hybrid war against Europe and beyond.

In the past month, a succession of senior British and European intelligence chiefs, and Nato’s American commander, have been strident in warning that Russia is intensifying a campaign of hostile operations.

There has been an aggressive combination of sabotage, arson, cyber attacks, espionage, drone incursions, disinformation, political interference and the recruitment of criminal proxies to carry out attacks – while allowing Moscow to deny responsibility. Some have warned that these operations could escalate into attacks causing significant casualties or even limited military incursions into Nato territory.

These warnings have come from Sir Ken McCallum, head of MI5, Martin Jäger, the head of Germany’s BND, Michal Koudelka, the head of Czech intelligence, US General Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s supreme allied commander, Beate Gangås, the head of Norway’s intelligence service, and Danish intelligence officials.

Trump has joined the Russian campaign in earnest. He has suspended US financial sanctions against Russia’s banks, officials and shadow tanker fleet that smuggles oil around the world. He has blamed Ukraine for high diesel prices that he caused by attacking Iran and done a deal with Russia to import the fuel to the US.

He has given Russia’s war economy a boost when it was struggling as a result of Ukraine’s long-range missile attacks and global sanctions. Restricting intelligence feeds and Starlink performance has added to Russia’s capacity to kill.

This means that Trump is part of the sabotage and hybrid warfare that Russia is waging against Europe, the UK and his own country. That he is now an enemy is a fact that Western leaders will know but not say – which will hobble the free world’s capacity to solve a problem like the Donald.

While Trump is in the White House, he will act, and has behaved, as if he works directly for Putin. So this is an historic inflection point – the point at which Europe and the UK must speak and act accordingly.

That is bad news for the politicians of Europe and the populations already protesting against what they think are poor services, high taxes and general decline. In a democracy, it is hard to imagine a political leader being able to sell more pain and hope for reelection.

Winston’s Churchill’s “blood, toil, tears and sweat” is not a winning electoral slogan. It is a statement of what is needed to survive.