THIS WEEK’S THURSDAY [VIP] ESSAY ARRIVED A LITTLE EARLY: Off-Ramps to Nowhere: Trump’s Fruitless (So Far) Peace Effort in Ukraine.

Putin’s peace terms remain as maximalist as ever, after three years of grinding losses and increasing reliance on those donkeys. He insists on Ukraine surrendering territories that Russia has failed to conquer, an effective veto over Ukraine’s government, and the demilitarization of a country he’s invaded twice in recent years. None of that is reasonable.

On the other side of the negotiating table (that neither side is willing to come to) is Zelenskyy. His peace demands are also maximalist. He wants Russia to leave territories Ukraine cannot reconquer, the presence of tripwire allied forces, and NATO membership. None of that is plausible.

Both leaders, if not actually divorced from reality, are at least enjoying trial separations. The most obvious example is Zelenskyy’s “WTF Were You Even THINKING?” (Hat tip, Florida Man Friday) performance at the White House on Friday. The deal had been pre-negotiated, giving America an economic stake in Ukraine that not even Putin could afford to ignore. All Zelenskyy had to do was put on a damn suit, smile, sign the papers, and enjoy lunch afterward with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

What followed, as I’m sure you already know, was the biggest geopolitical self-own since British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich in 1938 praising himself for delivering “peace in our time.”

Did I exaggerate with the Munich comparison? Probably. But only time will tell by how much.

Much more at the link.