If Trump's right, and Putin wants to 'solve the problem' in Ukraine, why won't he withdraw? The obvious solution.

[Amaryllis]

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-right-putin-wants-solve-problem-ukraine-wont-withdraw-rcna225629

There's a way to end the war in Ukraine quickly, cheaply and without bloodshed: Russia could withdraw. It's the solution the White House isn't pushing.
Aug. 18, 2025, 12:54 PM EDT

By Steve Benen (Maddow blog)

Two days after Donald Trump’s failed summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared on Fox News and raised a familiar point about the Trump administration’s position. “Both sides are going to have to make concessions,” he said, referring to Russia and Ukraine. Rubio added, “Ukraine is going to have to accept things it doesn’t like, and Russia is going to have to accept things that it doesn’t like.”

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Trump has spent months insisting that Putin wants “peace,” and the Republican reiterated the point to Fox News’ Sean Hannity after his failed summit in Alaska, saying that he genuinely believes that the Russian dictator wants to “solve the problem.”

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For all of the complexities surrounding possible territorial “swaps,” security guarantees and diplomatic partnerships, there’s a far more straightforward solution just sitting there, waiting for attention: Putin could withdraw his forces from Ukraine.
That’s it. That’s the whole solution.
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But this doesn’t have to be complicated: All Putin has to do is decide to stop fighting the war he started. He picked the fight, assuming it’d be easy. Ukraine proved to be far more formidable than Russia expected; Russia has paid a heavy price for its miscalculation; and Russia could decide — literally at any time — to simply end the unprovoked conflict.

“Russia could just go home,” Rudenko’s New York Times piece concluded. This would end the war quickly, without additional bloodshed, and without investments. If the White House doesn’t see this a goal worth pursuing, perhaps it should explain why not.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. It Really Is That Simple

Russia started the war; Russia has lost tremendous capital (monetary & geopolitical), plus a huge casualty list.
It would all end tomorrow if they just withdrew.