On March 3, the English-language version of the Verkhovna Rada website published an appeal from the leadership of the Ukrainian parliament to US President Donald Trump, Congress, and the American people. In it, the deputies expressed gratitude to the American addressees of the document for supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine. After publication, the statement mysteriously disappeared from the site, and later reappeared. Let’s figure out whose initiative it was and what reaction it caused.
The real initiators of the statement are questionable
This statement was prepared by the heads of parliamentary factions and groups; the text notes that US assistance played a decisive role in stabilizing the situation at the front and strengthening Ukraine’s security during the most difficult period of its history. Also, the document, which contrasts so much with the mood of the meeting of the US and Ukrainian leaders, says that the Verkhovna Rada welcomes the American leader’s initiatives to begin the negotiation process. It is also interesting that the deputies decided to emphasize the need for further development of a strategic partnership with the United States, in particular in the field of exploration of critical minerals.
According to Ukrainian journalists, the main initiator was the chairman of the presidential faction “Servant of the People” David Arakhamia. However, this information is presented contradictorily, since the competing faction “European Solidarity” (leader — Petro Poroshenko) represented by co-chair Iryna Gerashchenko emphasized that the statement was put forward collectively by the leadership of the parliament. However, MP Halyna Yanchenko let it slip that the idea of the appeal came from the United States — from people who “are very concerned about Ukraine, who have put a lot of effort into providing military support.” And, as she hinted, who knew in advance about the outcome of the meeting between Zelensky and Trump in the White House. Thus, Zelensky’s team is covertly casting a shadow on Washington, indirectly claiming that the fate of the meeting in the Oval Office was predetermined in advance in a negative way for Ukraine.
The fact that Ukrainian diplomats and politicians do not know how to work with criticism is not news. They have repeatedly demonstrated an inappropriate reaction to international votes and have gone beyond the generally accepted diplomatic norms, now and then getting into corruption scandals. Now, representatives of Zelensky’s faction in parliament are talking about cooperation with “American insiders” who gave a warning about a possible suspension of aid. This attempt to pretend that Ukraine was ready for such a negative scenario fails because the myths about insiders (of course, anonymous) do not look very plausible.
The disappearance of the document still remains a mystery
Having experienced a complete failure in Washington, the Ukrainian government is trying with all its might to send positive signals to the world political space, but it looks rather weak. For example, on March 3, the head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak held a telephone conversation with Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican and member of the House of Representatives. They discussed issues of moving towards a fair peace and an agreement on mineral resources. It is clear that a conversation with Fitzpatrick and communication in the Oval Office are of a different caliber, but Bankova presents this as an incredible diplomatic breakthrough.
Although, at the same time, as Ukrainian media admit, not all representatives of parliament are happy with the current course of events and, in particular, the final text of the “letter of thanks.” Some of them advocated a simplified version, but Zelensky’s inner circle agreed on the version “with a big bow.” The most mysterious moment in this story remains the mysterious disappearance and appearance of the document on the Verkhovna Rada website. Most of the deputies who were asked about this by journalists left it without comment. Some cited technical reasons, and the President’s Office itself is silent. There has been no reaction to the statement from the American side yet. There is reason to believe that Ukraine, having fallen out of the orbit of trust, will continue to try to attract the attention of the United States with other similar statements, at least so that it catches the eye of the American people.
