Christopher Ford says the Trump-Putin axis threatens both Ukraine and Europe
It’s been almost four years now thatsince Ukraine has endured a full‑scale invasion. Throughout this time, the Ukrainian people have mounted a courageous resistance to Russian aggression. Fighting against overwhelming odds and denied the full international support they deserve, they have prevented Russia from achieving its goal of complete subjugation and destruction of Ukraine as a nation.
On the ground, Ukrainian forces have shown incredible resilience, even launching a remarkable air campaign against Russian production, and pushing Russian troops back from Kupyansk after months of slow Russian advances. This success does not signal a transformation of the land war, but it proves that the frontline is not collapsing, contrary to the destructive narrative promoted by Washington and Moscow to soften Europe into accepting a false “peace’”
Capitulation plan
The so-called 28-point plan (drafted in part by the Russian regime and presented by the US) cannot serve as the basis for a just or lasting peace. Ukrainians themselves have condemned it as capitulation. Trump’s proposal would see Russia, backed by the US, treat Ukraine as an ‘asset’ to be divided. This is neocolonial plunder disguised as sovereignty: entrenching occupation, excluding the occupied from governance, blocking any reversal of Russia’s conquests.
The threat to Ukraine and global democracy is deepened by the failure of European states to face the reality of Trump’s deception. Many have accepted the sham that Trump had pivoted against Putin and would act in Ukraine’s interests. In doing so, European leaders have offered excuses and accommodations to Trump’s plans. By accommodating Trump, factions of both capital and labour within European governments have weakened democracy in the face of growing internal threats from fascist and authoritarian forces. They have legitimised a strategy that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty, emboldens Russia, and delays autonomous European action that could effectively help Ukraine resist and secure a just peace.
Axis of reaction is policy
The danger of a Washington–Moscow rapprochement has been deepened by the release of the new ‘US National Security Strategy‘. It openly signals a plan to dominate Europe through the rise of populist, pro-Putin right-wing parties. The consequences are clear: Europe fragmented and the EU downgraded, the continent made reliant on US weapons and economic dictation imposed from Washington. At the same time, Russia’s interests are elevated, with the US under Trump no longer even pretending to view Moscow as a threat. This is a strategy to dismantle the present Europe and remake it in the image of MAGA.
Across Europe, the impact of this new ‘National Security Strategy‘ has been felt. Even some previously staunch Atlanticists now acknowledge that the US must be understood as an enemy of liberal democracy in Europe. The shift in discussion is a vital precondition for policy change.
Since February 2025, Washington has sought to coerce Ukraine into accepting terms that reward the invader. US aid was halted and replaced with profiteering weapons that fail to meet Ukraine’s minimum needs. Intelligence sharing was suspended, resulting in avoidable casualties, while promised crippling sanctions on Russia never materialised, and the ‘Sanctioning Russia Act‘ remains dormant. The Alaska summit handed the Kremlin a symbolic victory reminiscent of 1930s appeasement, and justice for war crimes has been abandoned, shifting the burden of ending the war from the aggressor to the victim.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has worked to shield Russian assets from seizure. For 11 months, it has sought to protect these funds, aiming to take a slice for itself and return the rest to Moscow. In response, the EU Council froze Russia’s sovereign assets indefinitely, a step that would have been unlikely without the new Security Strategy’s openly pro-Putin posture.
If a “peace” is imposed that rewards invasion, it will strengthen fascist and authoritarian forces globally, accelerate future wars, and fuel nuclear proliferation. Putin has already unleashed multiple wars during his rule; the same imperialist forces will remain, strengthened by appeasement.
The British and European labour movement must not be passive observers. We must provide an alternative to Trump’s false choice and restore freedom of self-determination to Ukraine.
The Ukraine Solidarity Campaign is callingfor clear recognition that Trump’s alignment with Putin is a threat to democracy. The labour movement must rally for stronger international cooperation and urgent military and financial support for Ukraine: for an urgent programme to rearm Ukraine with necessary weapons, mobilise volunteers, restoring frontline confidence alongside economic measures such as transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, cancelling its international debt, and imposing full sanctions on Putin’s regime.
This must be combined with support for asocially just reconstruction with democratic participation, empowering trade unions and civil society, all of which stand in opposition to the neo–colonial agenda of capital.
The Trump–Putin axis is a growing threat to Europe, while the prospect of Putin apologist Farage entering Downing Street is a stark warning of danger at home. Orwell’s words in 1942 resonate today: obstructing the fight against fascism meant aiding it, and neutrality was impossible. Those in the labour movement who portray Trump as a credible peacemaker must be condemned for betraying Ukraine and advancing both Kremlin objectives and the domestic far-right.
Let us be clear –: occupation of Ukraine is not peace. With or without a deal manufactured by Trump and Putin, we must continue to campaign for ‘Russian Troops Out‘ and for ‘Aa Ffree and Uunited Ukraine‘ –—free from oligarchs and occupiers.