Editorials: 18-July-2025

 

The Hindu Editorials

​Middle ground: On Donald Trump and the Ukraine war

U.S. President Donald Trump must ask Russia to back down from its maximalist position

July 18, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has made a (1) U-turn on Ukraine, shifting from his campaign pledge to end the war within 24 hours of taking office to promising to send more weapons to Ukraine and threatening to impose “(2) severe tariffs” on Russia and its trading partners if the crisis is not resolved in 50 days. The shift reflects the complex realities on the ground. Ukraine, which has lost more than 20% of its territories, including its Sea of Azov coastline, to Russia since 2014, agreed to a (3) ceasefire, under pressure from the Trump administration, based on the current frontline. Russia had initially responded to Mr. Trump’s peace push. It agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, and halted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. Moscow also declared brief ceasefires and sent negotiators to Istanbul for talks with Kyiv on June 2, despite a (4) drone strike by Ukraine deep inside Russia, targeting its bombers. But after the U.S. joined Israel to bomb Iran, despite Tehran’s nuclear talks with Washington, Russia (5) accelerated attacks on Ukraine with drone attacks and troop advances in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In a call with Mr. Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not (6) back down from his goals in Ukraine. Caught between an (7) intransigent Moscow and pressure from his allies, Mr. Trump seems to have decided to change course.

Nevertheless, Mr. Trump has ruled out giving Ukraine long-range offensive weapons. The plan is to send defensive weapons, including Patriot systems and ammunition to Ukraine through NATO allies. While Patriots could be effective in shielding Ukraine’s skies from Russian missile strikes, they are unlikely to alter the balance in the battlefield. And, the U.S.’s ability to hurt Russia through direct tariffs is limited as bilateral trade stood at just $3 billion in 2024. But if Mr. Trump opts for (8) secondary tariffs, the impact would extend to other countries, including India, China, and Brazil. Since the start of the Ukraine war, the U.S. and Europe have imposed multiple layers of sanctions on Russia, which have failed to impact the Kremlin’s war policies. By threatening to (9) penalise third countries for Russia’s actions, Mr. Trump is (10) doubling down on a failed policy, and also jeopardising the energy security of countries such as India, an American partner. Mr. Trump must realise that he cannot resolve global conflicts through imperial-style ultimatums and threats. Instead, sustained diplomacy with Moscow and Kyiv is essential. Russia must come down from its maximalist demands, and Ukraine’s security concerns should be addressed. His focus should be on finding a middle ground between the Russian and Ukrainian positions to achieve a durable peace.

Stepping stone: On Shubhanshu Shukla, NASA-Axiom-ISRO tie-up

The NASA-Axiom-ISRO tie-up is an admirable outcome

July 18, 2025

A crew of four astronauts including India’s Shubhanshu Shukla completed their roughly two-week mission to the International Space Station on July 15. Mr. Shukla’s trip was presumed to have been an (1) intensive rehearsal ahead of his flight as part of India’s first batch of astronauts for ISRO’s ‘Gaganyaan’ mission, currently expected in 2027. The (2) presumption is because the goals of Mr. Shukla’s trip, which ISRO arranged for by paying north of ₹500 crore to Axiom Space, have not been officially communicated by Indian authorities. Fortunately, clarifications from Axiom and NASA have since cast more light on its purpose. While ISRO and the Department of Space are still expected to (3) proactively disseminate what they know about their activities under Gaganyaan, not least because of the mission’s ₹20,000 crore price tag, Mr. Shukla’s trip ought to strengthen ISRO’s preparations.

Human spaceflight is a highly (4) involved endeavour: once in space, the crew is on its own and the resources to respond to a variety of situations are limited. According to a statement ISRO published after the mission launched on June 25, Mr. Shukla and Prasanth Nair — who is also part of Gaganyaan’s first (5) cohort of astronauts and was part of the Axiom mission’s backup crew — were (6) familiarised with “advanced spacecraft systems, emergency protocols, scientific payload operations, microgravity adaptation, space medicine, and survival traits”.

As the mission pilot, per Axiom, Mr. Shukla was also coached on docking and undocking, manual operations, atmospheric reentry, and (7) anomaly management. Onboard the space station, Mr. Shukla was exposed to operations in the Japanese and European modules, for which he and Mr. Nair were trained in Japan and Germany. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan has also said that the Axiom mission cost less than what ISRO might have had to invest if it had to train Mr. Shukla on its own.

In all, the NASA-Axiom-ISRO tie-up emerges as an (8) admirable outcome, even as space agencies continue to closely guard space technologies for their strategic value.

Concerns that the limitations imposed by the U.S.’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations would prevent the duo from learning much may also be laid to rest. Instead, they may be replaced by concerns about ISRO’s (9) piecemeal communication. Astronauts cut inspirational figures and appeal to all ages. As India prepares for its first human spaceflight mission, there can be no better way to build excitement than by facilitating access to India’s astronauts. The lack of initiative is hard to (10) rationalise, although it is still not too late. ISRO as well as India’s soft power platform will make copious gains by expanding outreach and easing public access to the spacefarers.

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