Trump right to share intel with Ukraine; don’t turn off Starlink, Elon Musk!

Devastating Russia strikes hit Kyiv last night, and now 600,000 people are without power. The ballistic missiles were not detected in advance, which meant people on the ground there had little advanced warning.

This is very dangerous — I know, because I was in Ukraine several months ago, and I saw firsthand hand how the advanced warning of incoming attacks is absolutely critical for the people of Ukraine to go about their lives with even a semblance of normality. Forewarning allows them to seek shelter when appropriate, rather than spending all their time hiding underground.

So it was disturbing to learn that this latest strike was undetected, and there was rampant speculation online that the U.S. had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine , allowing it to prepare for strikes.

President Trump has been very frustrated with the war lately, since Ukrainian strikes on Russia are devastating Russia’s energy infrastructure — this war is destructive for the people of Ukraine and Russia, but also had ramifications for the rest of the world. Nobody likes this, and Trump is right to be upset.

But obviously we cannot pause the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine, which to his credit, Trump realizes. Here was the president confirming that we continue to monitor Russian planes and inform Ukraine of incoming fire.

Trump gets it exactly right there. We must continue to support Ukraine so that we get to a place where Russia will be willing to negotiate to end the war. These terms might not be ideal for Ukraine, but they’ll be better than losing their country. That’s the truth.

There’s another problem for Ukraine, which is that Starlink unexpectedly introduced speed restrictions on frontline combat operations, which will make it more difficult for Ukrainian drones to hit targets in Russia. If this was done intentionally by Elon Musk, it’s a huge mistake.

Remember, it is not Ukraine standing in the way of peace, and here is where we have to be clear-eyed. It’s Russia. Specifically, it’s Vladimir Putin. He could end the war at any time. He could end it tomorrow. If he did that, then Ukraine would stop bombing Russia — we can make them do that. We can’t make them do it if Russia is continuing to invade, but if Russia stands down, then Ukraine stands down. We can have a ceasefire, and bring this horrible conflict to an end.

Again, the choice is up to Putin. And it’s important to remember that, because far too many commentators, including many on the left but also some on the right, act as if Russia has no agency in all this, that they are just reacting to the West or to NATO. It’s not true. It’s Putin’s choice, right now, to cause the deaths of thousands of people, including thousands of Russians.

Then there’s the matter of the Russian diesel deal , with Trump announcing plans to make the diesel available to global markets. The president’s instinct to ease economic tensions for the rest of the world, and indirectly for us, are right. Unfortunately, Russia can invest the profits in the war on Ukraine, prolonging their ability to fight. So from the standpoint of bringing the war to a speedy end, it’s entirely counterproductive to do this, and several Republican and Democratic senators have written a letter to Trump informing him of exactly this.

As much as it pains me to recommend any course of action that raises prices for anyone, anywhere, things are not going to get better in the long term unless they are a little more painful in the short term. We should tell Putin we’d love to buy his diesel, we’d love to make Russia as rich as we possibly can, but we have to hold off on that plan until he gives up his quest to subjugate Ukraine. There won’t be peace until Putin is ready for peace.

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.