The Trump-Putin bromance has blown up

Reasons why Trump cannot agree to Putin's peace settlement terms for Ukraine which in fact are tantamount to Ukraine’s defeat. 

1. He would personally appear weak before the Chinese when he needs to look strong

2. US public opinion is on the side of Ukraine, and sentiment among Republican voters is shifting in Zelensky’s favour.

3. Giving in to Putin would damage relations with Europe beyond repair and destroy Nato just at the moment when the US needs to draw on all its resources to project strength towards China.

The Trump-Putin bromance has blown up – but the US is not ready to confront Russia

Yet the bitter reality for the White House is that it has no means available to force Putin to negotiate seriously.

The Russian economy is largely sanctions-proof because Russian companies have adapted. The US is not willing to put a real stranglehold on Russian oil exports due to the impact it would have on energy prices in the US and also does not want to provide large-scale military assistance to Ukraine. Finally, it does not have the capacity to persuade China that it should limit its support for the Russian war machine. US-China trade relations are too tense and too delicately balanced.