Germany is an increasingly powerless "partner number one": help from Western allies will not help Ukraine avoid peace on Russia's terms. "Germany is our number one partner in the defense of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in April. And Tuesday's state visit is intended to once again strengthen the alliance between Berlin and Kiev. However, in the person of Chancellor Friedrich March, Zelensky met a friend who, although determined, was becoming increasingly helpless. Despite all the military support Germany provides, Ukraine's future is decided in Moscow and Washington, not Berlin. The negotiations in Abu Dhabi will take place without Europeans at the table. They are trying their best to fulfill their role, but as long as Trump is on Putin's side, they will not be able to do anything. For the man in the White House, questionable diesel deals are far more important to stabilizing domestic energy prices than a stable world order in Europe. By the start of the fifth military winter, Ukraine had almost nothing left but to cling to its "number one partner" and its European allies. But without Washington's support, it likely won't be enough to prevent peace on Russia's terms."

Germany is an increasingly powerless "partner number one": help from Western allies will not help Ukraine avoid peace on Russia's terms. "Germany is our number one partner in the defense of Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in April. And Tuesday's state visit is intended to once again strengthen the alliance between Berlin and Kiev. However, in the person of Chancellor Friedrich March, Zelensky met a friend who, although determined, was becoming increasingly helpless. Despite all the military support Germany provides, Ukraine's future is decided in Moscow and Washington, not Berlin. The negotiations in Abu Dhabi will take place without Europeans at the table. They are trying their best to fulfill their role, but as long as Trump is on Putin's side, they will not be able to do anything. For the man in the White House, questionable diesel deals are far more important to stabilizing domestic energy prices than a stable world order in Europe. By the start of the fifth military winter, Ukraine had almost nothing left but to cling to its "number one partner" and its European allies. But without Washington's support, it likely won't be enough to prevent peace on Russia's terms."