FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 28, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Response to Trump, J.D. Vance, Zelensky White House Exchange
The heated exchange in the White House between President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy is not helpful for finding an immediate solution to the conflict. It may, however; force a necessary reset, reflecting the Trump administration's very rational position that it will not keep supporting Ukraine to fight an endless war that it cannot win on the battlefield. The response to this exchange in the media has been largely about the demonstrated lack of decorum from the Trump Administration regarding Ukraine – but we encourage the public to focus instead on the material realities facing Ukraine and Russia. This war continuing would cost thousands of more Ukrainian and Russian lives – and an escalation would have an impact on the entire world.
President Trump was correct in saying that this war risks triggering World War III, that too many soldiers have already been killed, and that it is critical to find a solution. Without an end to US weapons to Ukraine, the war would continue to present an increased risk of nuclear catastrophe. However, the Trump Administration should also cease using Ukraine’s resources as a pawn in the peace process.
We hope the US and Ukraine come back together on a more realistic basis before the war escalates further, but that will require serious diplomacy. It will require Europe to stop encouraging Ukraine to keep fighting. Now is the moment when all sides must recognize that this war must be settled at the negotiating table, no matter how hard that is. Last week, CODEPINK called on all members of Congress to join us in supporting diplomatic efforts, instead of obstructing the peace process.
Unfortunately, the US and UK persuaded Ukraine to walk away from the negotiating table in April 2022, when Ukraine was in a much stronger position and Russia was ready to withdraw. There is no sugar-coating the reality that Ukraine is now in a much weaker position as a result of that.
We hope the Trump administration will move forward in its efforts to end this conflict so that the killing stops. Since the US fueled this war and sabotaged peace talks, the US should also invest in helping to rebuild infrastructure in Ukraine and assist in clearing out dangerous weapons like cluster bombs that could harm civilians for years to come. We would also like to see the billions of dollars of weapons that the US continues to send to Ukraine be halted and instead invested in life-affirming needs for people struggling here in the US.
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