The meeting in Alaska was mocked by low expectations and stayed there: no real outcomes. Kyiv voices said Trump looked weak and Putin talked him into submission, boosting Putin’s ego. A ceasefire that Trump signaled earlier faded at the press conference, and he’s since ruled out an immediate halt to hostilities in favor of chasing a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Putin seemed to sway Trump, and many call the trip a Putin win, part of a pattern of buying time so the war can继续. On the ground, Ukraine faced pressure in the east around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia; Russia made some advances but was pushed back in other areas, keeping the situation stubbornly difficult. Analysts warn Europe must supply more arms, and that the war’s fate will be decided on the battlefield. Zelensky is slated to travel to Washington after a call with Trump, with signals about security guarantees. The US reportedly weighs offering Ukraine protection akin to NATO Article 5, but only if Ukraine accepts a peace deal with Russia; no official confirmations have come.

If you think that’s just careful diplomacy, you’re dreaming. This whole show is a masterclass in how the powerful sell a “peace plan” like a damn candy bar while keeping the war hot under the hood. Putin walks into the room and emerges with a swaggering victory lap, while Washington hands out crumbs of security guarantees as if that will erase a million broken lives and scorched towns. They spin it as “exit ramps to peace,” but the ramp is a trap—economy-sized bait attached to a license for Moscow to keep grinding away at Ukraine while Europe fumbles for enough arms to play catch-up.

This isn’t clever negotiation; it’s a high-stakes confidence game dressed up as diplomacy. The ceasefire that never was becomes the pretext to push Ukraine into concessions, to trade heroic resistance for a vague promise of “guarantees” that hinge on Ukraine throwing in the towel. Europe is told to send more weapons, and America is told to accept a peace deal with terms that feel more like capitulation than a treaty. The Article 5-style protection is presented as prestige security, but it’s really a green light for Moscow to redraw the map on Kyiv’s doorstep with a smile and a handshake.

Meanwhile the theater goes on: the media gushes about diplomacy while the battlefield tells a grimmer story. Zelensky’s trip to Washington looks like a fragile lifeline, not a victory march. If you want to understand who’s “winning,” look at the casualties, the displaced, the shattered towns, and the farce of guarantees that come with strings attached. This isn’t about bold leadership; it’s about masking retreat as negotiation and selling it as peace. And if you think that stops at Ukraine, you’re fooling yourself—the same play is being rehearsed against whoever steps into the crosshairs next. Wake up: the war’s engine isn’t cooling, it’s being revved up with every “peace talks” photo op.