By: Andriy Kolenov
For most, February 24th, 2025 was your regular Monday. A regular morning coffee followed with a regular day of classes, and then your regular evening spent working, with friends, or at a club meeting. But for Ukrainians, that day was special. It signified a deeply tragic anniversary: one of three years of destruction; three years of blood; three years of relentless human suffering. It was anything but your regular Monday.
Three years ago, I was fundraising for Ukraine’s war effort with my brothers in the Theta Chi Fraternity, my friends in the Eastern European Society, and the Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England. Spring break was approaching. I asked my friends and brothers if they intended to keep fundraising with me after break to hear the common response: “Let’s see if this war will still be going on after spring break.” It’s now been three spring breaks and the war is still going on.
Three years ago, it looked like Kyiv was about to fall, with Ukraine to be annexed into Russia. It didn’t happen. Three years ago, it looked like Zelensky was about to flee to London to establish a government-in-exile. It didn’t happen. Three years ago, it looked like the EU was about to give up Ukraine to prepare for a land war with Russia. It didn’t happen.
But that was three years ago. It’s all still going. With millions of people dead and tens of millions of more lives destroyed, it’s all still going on. Since the Kherson counteroffensive in November 2022, neither Russia nor Ukraine has made any tangible progress on the battlefield. Soldiers are dug in trenches along the front line, silently praying that this day is not their last. Homes are destroyed. Entire towns are gone. Families are shattered. Even the heroes who survived will forever be broken.
What is this war for? You don’t need a professional military analyst to perceive the simple reality: Russia will never take Kyiv and Ukraine will never take Moscow. So what is this really for? A tens-of-thousands of casualties battle to claim you captured a thousand-population village? A contest between Putin and Zelensky to call the other “loser” first? An incredible market opportunity for lobbying weapon manufacturers on both sides?
In truth, there was never a reason for any of this to happen but Russia invaded, unprovoked, expecting Ukraine to fall within three days. Now it’s been three years. Ukraine stood up not only for itself but for Europe too, the certain next victim of Russia’s cruel rampage. Ukraine defied all military and political expectations time and time again. Russia has proven more resilient to economic pressure than people expected. Now it’s just a stalemate, and it’s been three years.
There exists a peace deal on the table which both sides could maybe tolerate; Ukraine concedes the part of the Donbass it lost, returns Kursk to Russia, and signs neutrality into its constitution. In turn, Russia gives back the parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia it currently occupies and agrees to end their bloodshed. A Western-backed peacekeeping force monitors the demilitarized zone between the stalwart enemies and Ukraine peacefully integrates into the EU. The West stops putting economic pressure on Russia. Hostages are freed. Soldiers can return to their families. Of course, I’m no military analyst, but as a keen follower of every major development over three years, I feel this is our best shot.
Dear President Trump, you always said you have the art of the deal. Now it’s time to make the biggest deal of your life; a deal that will go down in history books to be meticulously analyzed by historians for decades, if not centuries, to come.
Dear President Trump, this is the perfect chance to demonstrate your pristine negotiating skills not only to the American electorate but the entire globe, not only for our generation, but for generations to come.
Dear President Trump, this is your opportunity to bring down the biggest geopolitical villain of the twenty-first century, to be remembered as a hero by many, and perhaps even receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dear President Trump, you have all the cards in this deal. Russia understands that any presence of the US military in Ukraine is a de-facto end to the war. Russia realizes that any use of a nuclear weapon could potentially end the world; otherwise they would’ve done so already when Ukraine invaded Kursk. Russia knows that its economy is getting beaten to a pulp, numerically only propped up with high military spending. Russia sees that it is making virtually no progress on the battlefield. Russia notices that since the start of the war it only lost allies while NATO gained more.
Dear President Trump, this is an opportunity to make a spectacular deal; a magnificent deal; a deal which should’ve happened three years ago. There needs to be just peace: a peace where Ukraine maintains its independence and integrates into the EU; a peace where families can reunite and mothers stop burying their children; a peace which seems impossible, but hope is the last thing to remain inside Pandora’s Box.
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