Applebaum: Trump’s Latest Moves Are Pressuring Ukraine Toward Surrender
The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum argues that a 72-hour burst of Trump decisions on Ukraine abandons decades of US policy and his own prior diplomacy.
What to know
- An Atlantic essay by Anne Applebaum argues Trump's actions over a 72-hour window amount to pressuring Ukraine to surrender.
- The piece says Trump has reversed decades of US policy and undermined 18 months of his own administration's diplomacy.
- Online commenters are debating whether Congress could sustain Ukraine aid without Trump's support if he moves to cut it off.
“The president's actions over the past 72 hours look like an effort to force Kyiv to surrender.”
Anne Applebaum, Atlantic staff writer · The Atlantic ↗ · Oct 11
Donald Trump US PresidentAnne Applebaum Author, The Atlantic
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Commenters question aid cutoff and urge Ukrainian strikes
Reddit commenters discuss whether US aid to Ukraine could continue through congressional action if Trump halts it, and one calls for Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian infrastructure.
“Since fat fuck says he will stop aid to UA. If Republicans lose midterms, that means bills and such can just be put forward and passed to provide aid even without him is it?”
— PropagandaSucks, Reddit commenter · source -
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From Anne Applebaum: "This looks like an abrupt, Hail Mary attempt to force Ukraine to surrender and to save the Russian economy, perhaps in order to finally complete the multiple business deals that the Russians are known to have discussed with American negotiators and others in Trump’s orbit. These include deals involving the Nord Stream gas…
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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Question from Non-American. Since fat fuck says he will stop aid to UA. If Republicans lose midterms, that means bills and such can just be put forward and passed to provide aid even without him is it?
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"In the past 72 hours, Donald Trump has dropped all pretense, torched a couple decades of American policy, and undermined 18 months of his own diplomacy." https://www. theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/10/ trump-ukraine-putin-fuel/688974/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
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Essay circulates widely on Mastodon and Reddit
The Atlantic piece is reposted across Mastodon accounts and shared on Reddit, drawing attention to its claim that Trump's actions amount to pressuring Ukraine to surrender.
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first by Mastodon, 1d ago · also The Atlantic
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Applebaum says Trump is forcing Kyiv toward surrender
Anne Applebaum publishes an essay in The Atlantic arguing that Trump's recent actions constitute an effort to compel Ukraine's capitulation, reversing decades of US policy and his own 18 months of diplomacy.
“In the past 72 hours, Donald Trump has dropped all pretense, torched a couple decades of American policy, and undermined 18 months of his own diplomacy.”
— Anne Applebaum -
background
Trump takes a series of actions reshaping US Ukraine policy — Over a 72-hour period described in the Atlantic essay, Trump reportedly makes moves — tied to fuel and relations with Putin — that break with prior US policy toward Ukraine.
What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 4 · verbatim
- Oct 12
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I hope Ukraine responds by destroying more Russian data centers. Things got awfully quiet for a minute :)