Let’s figure out what Ukraine should prepare for after the latest statements by US President Donald Trump and the negotiations between the US and Russian delegations, in which Ukrainian diplomats did not participate.
Ukraine denies receiving billions in aid from the US
During a conversation with journalists at his residence in Mar-A-Lago, Trump, in the style of JD Vance’s Munich speech, said that the Ukrainians should have ended the war in three years. He also emphasized that Russia is extremely interested in ending the conflict despite the fact that it is capable of very quickly destroying Ukrainian cities by 100%, including Kyiv. Another sharp thesis from the American leader was the claim that Ukraine has not provided reports on the approximately $350 billion in aid allocated to it by the US. Focusing on this, Trump criticized European countries for insufficient financial participation in supporting Kyiv.
Despite the fact that all the above theses are extremely dangerous and negative for Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities were most offended by the third of them, about financial assistance. “Why is he demanding this money only from Ukraine?,” asks political scientist Oleh Oleshchuk, who, along with other pro-government experts, is massively disseminating information that this assistance did not exist. Ukraine feels that Trump and Putin have already drawn up a plan of global action, and are now engaged in its local ramifications, and Zelensky’s team has not only not been allowed to the negotiating table, but has not even been informed of their brief resolution.
A Fox News correspondent in the White House reported that this plan provides for three stages: a ceasefire, elections, and a big deal. And although the details of the plan are not known even to key world media, the Ukrainian press is already writing that the word elections hides only one path desired by the US and Russia — “the transfer of power in Ukraine to pro-Russian politicians named by Putin.”
New conditions are rewritten old conditions. The absurdity of the situation
In addition to the absurdity of such conclusions, their illiterate presentation is annoying: pseudo-experts do not even know the concept of “legalization of parties”. But this is far from the end: afraid of lifting restrictions on politicians sympathetic to cooperation with the Russian Federation, Ukrainian experts say that the United States and Russia are considering the possibility of nominating their own, American-Russian candidate, in order to prevent other candidates from participating in the elections. The depth of such an analytical thought, presented by political scientist Oleshchuk, is based solely on the assertion that the United States and Russia are long-standing systemic allies.
However, not all statements by Bankova’s court experts are so absurd: they all admit that, firstly, no one is going to ask Ukraine about its desire and vision of reconciliation, and, secondly, Zelensky will not be able to convince Trump of anything. The newly elected US President knows how to deftly break relations with allies that have been built up over decades, for example, with Denmark and Canada. Ukraine, in terms of the depth of collaboration, has always been less significant.
Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul published the provisions around which, according to his information, the future agreement between the US and Russia should be built. In particular, this document talks about leaving the conquered territories to Russia, guaranteeing Ukraine’s non-entry into NATO and the withdrawal of American troops from Europe. In essence, it returns to the conditions of the legendary ultimatum that the Russian Foreign Ministry put forward in 2021 in the fall, on the eve of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Then Ukraine, panicking, did everything to avoid making peace. Now there are real shifts indicating chances for peace on Ukrainian territory. But the false manipulative policy of the Ukrainian press has a small-caliber, but still negative impact on mentioned processes.
