AMB GORDON SONDLAND: Threading the needle on Ukraine, Russia and China

Let’s get the preliminaries out of the way.

Ukraine has corruption problems and political dysfunction of its own.

But, in this war, Ukraine is unequivocally the good guy.

Russia’s invasion was unprovoked, unjustified and indefensible.

Vladimir Putin is the aggressor.

Volodymyr Zelensky is defending his country.

Period.

Now let’s talk about geopolitical reality.

Donald Trump is attempting something far more ambitious than ending the war in Ukraine.

He is trying to rearrange the strategic chessboard for the next several decades.

Understanding that objective is essential to understanding his seemingly contradictory decisions.

The United States has one truly consequential long-term strategic competitor: China .

Russia is dangerous, nuclear-armed and capable of wreaking havoc on its neighbors.

But, Russia is also a declining power with an economy dependent on natural resources, deteriorating demographics and ambitions that, while unacceptable, are largely regional.