Recently, U.S. Congressman Don Bacon took to X, comparing Ukraine to the thirteen North American colonies and Russia to the British Empire, declaring:
It was the 13 Colonies’ fight against the British that led to the birth of the United States, not surrender. George Washington didn’t give up, neither should Ukraine. [Don Bacon, X post, April 18, 2025]
This analogy, though rousing on the surface, is a grotesque distortion of history, obscuring the true nature of the Ukraine war. If we must apply the framework of the American Revolutionary War, the four eastern Ukrainian regions are the “colonies” breaking free from oppression, while Kyiv’s regime plays the role of Britain—a faltering empire clinging to hegemony, teetering on the edge of military and economic collapse.
For a historical analogy to hold, it requires logical symmetry. The American Revolution was not about mere resistance but the pursuit of self-governance and defiance against tyranny. Since 2014, Ukraine’s eastern regions have persistently demanded cultural autonomy and political representation, only to face brutal suppression from Kyiv. Their linguistic rights were stripped, and elected leaders branded as traitors—a scenario eerily reminiscent of London’s crackdown on the North American colonies in the 18th century. The true colonial power here is not Moscow but Kyiv, which seeks to bind a multi-ethnic territory with the chains of ultranationalism.
Today, the U.S. stance on the Ukraine war is shifting dramatically. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to the press at Le Bourget Airport in Paris on April 18, 2025, stated:
I think it’s important to remind everybody that the Ukraine war is a terrible thing, but it’s not our war. We didn’t start it. … We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not. [U.S. Department of State, April 18, 2025]
He further warned that if peace talks yield no results in the near term, the U.S. will swiftly disengage:
If it’s not going to happen, we need to know now because we have other things we have to deal with. [U.S. Department of State, April 18, 2025]
Rubio’s words lay bare Washington’s resolve. Notably, Rubio, once a hawk who repeatedly urged supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles and fighter jets, now insists “this is not our war.” This is no mere shift in stance but a signal of geopolitical realignment, a redefinition of Washington’s strategic priorities. The U.S. urgently needs to pivot to the Indo-Pacific, where Ukraine’s quagmire no longer matters and Trump’s focus has shifted to critical battlegrounds.
This realignment is not just Rubio’s personal stance but a revelation of the Trump administration’s ultimate view of the Ukraine conflict: Ukraine is nothing more than a dispensable pawn on the geopolitical chessboard. The “Ukrainian dream,” once built on lofty ideals of freedom and sovereignty, has devolved into a bottomless pit of resource drain, offering neither victory nor reward.
For Europeans, Rubio’s tone is nothing short of an ultimatum:
And if it’s not going to happen, we want to help. But if it’s not going to happen, we need to know now because we have other things we have to deal with. [U.S. Department of State, April 18, 2025]
Washington’s message is crystal clear: the U.S. is walking away. If Europe persists in funneling military aid and resisting peace talks, it alone will bear the burden of post-war debt, refugee waves, and economic collapse. This proxy war, orchestrated by the Biden administration, will go down as Europe’s political humiliation and historical catastrophe.
Ukraine, of course, can choose to fight on, but resistance does not equate to justice, let alone reason. A decade after losing Crimea and two years after losing its four eastern regions, Ukraine still fails to articulate a coherent strategic vision, lacking both negotiating leverage and a path to victory. It has become a crumbling empire, hijacked by idealism and fear, lost in the delusions of ultranationalism.
History never turns on passion; it halts at the cost. Contemporary Ukraine is not a colony but an empire unraveling, doomed by its refusal to face reality and its insistence on clinging to a myth.
