As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Monday for a high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump, Russia delivered a violent and unmistakable message. In the early hours of Monday morning, Russian forces launched a series of airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, killing at least ten civilians—including a toddler and a 16-year-old.
The attacks hit hardest in Kharkiv, where five armed drones struck a residential building just after 5 a.m. According to local authorities, the drones approached from multiple directions and targeted sleeping civilians. The aftermath was horrific. A collapsed building, smoke billowing into the sky, and the limp body of a small child being carried out by a firefighter.
Zelensky, addressing the attacks at the start of his meeting with President Trump, called for continued support from the United States and Europe. "We need to stop this war, to stop Russia," he said solemnly.
For years now, the Biden administration and European leaders have thrown billions of dollars into the conflict with no end in sight. They've talked endlessly about "defending democracy," but their approach has only prolonged the bloodshed. The war machine keeps churning, while innocent Ukrainians continue to die in their homes. Over a thousand civilians have been killed between December 2024 and May 2025, according to a United Nations report. Yet the establishment remains committed to a strategy that has done nothing to bring the war to a close.
President Trump, on the other hand, has shown a willingness to pursue what the D.C. foreign policy class won’t even consider-- and that is a negotiated peace rooted in strength, not weakness. Ahead of his own meeting with Putin in Alaska, Trump made it clear that he would be "unhappy" if the Russian leader refused to agree to a ceasefire. Predictably, Putin did not make that concession, but the meeting wasn’t for nothing. Trump later said they reached an agreement on a number of important issues, and while the details remain under wraps, one thing is sure: Trump brought pressure, not platitudes.
The war in Ukraine is not just a European issue—it’s a reflection of failed leadership on the world stage. And right now, Trump is the only one showing he understands that. He’s the only leader willing to challenge the status quo, to stop the slaughter, and to insist on real solutions rather than more empty slogans.