To better understand Donald Trump’s absurd position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is useful to imagine a similar situation.

Imagine that China’s dictator, Xi Jinping, sends one million Chinese troops to invade the United States. Fighting breaks out all over the U.S. as U.S. troops and civilians battle against the Chinese invaders. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are killed. Meanwhile, China has taken over Florida and declared it an overseas province of China, with Chinese nationals taking over control of the Florida government.

Ursula von der Leyen, the leader of the European Union, declares that the killing must stop and proposes that control in the United States should be frozen in place, leaving Xi Jinping and the Chinese government in complete control of Florida.

Von der Leyden proposes that she and Xi Jinping meet in North Korea and not invite the president of the United States to join them.

This is exactly what Donald Trump and his sycophants have proposed for Ukraine. Trump wants Vladimir Putin to retain control of part of Ukraine even though Russian troops invaded Ukraine without provocation. And Trump wants to make a deal with Putin without input from the Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian people.

If you were a U.S. citizen, would you agree to the Chinese takeover of Florida? If you were a Ukrainian citizen, would you agree to the Russian takeover of part of your country?

Here is a possible conclusion to the Russian war against Ukraine. Having made a huge blunder when he invaded Ukraine, Vladimir Putin needs to save face. So he gets to keep Crimea, the population of which is two-thirds Russian. In exchange, Putin pulls all Russian troops and civilians out of Ukraine and returns all the Ukrainian children the Russians kidnapped and moved to Russia.

-David Wallechinsky