For Zelensky, clashing with Donald Trump comes at a price, but trying to appease the American president could also cost Ukraine. Politico’s analysis places the Ukrainian leader at the heart of this dilemma, at a time when Trump appears increasingly inclined to strike a deal with Putin.
Të lidhura
None found
Trump’s agreement for the supply of millions of tonnes of oil from Russia, which he described as very big and important, came at a particularly difficult moment for Ukrainians. The country is enduring a terrible month, with a freezing winter fast approaching.
The American president’s intention to allow oil imports by lifting sanctions on Moscow has been felt as a heavy blow by most Ukrainians. They continue to face successive drone and ballistic missile attacks, while civilian casualties are mounting.
Politico recalls that Zelensky reacted immediately to the agreement, describing it as weak and a gift to Putin that would help finance Russia’s war. He then approved further drone strikes on Russian refineries, an even more defiant step that prompted Trump to call on Ukrainians to replace their president.
According to the analysis, Zelensky is showing no signs of intending to comply with Trump’s demand to end strikes on Russia’s energy sector once and for all. This conduct reflects his growing frustration this year: the Ukrainian president has used harsher language with both adversaries and allies, criticized European leaders over delays in aid, traded barbs with Hungary’s Viktor Orban and openly opposed Trump’s approach to the war.
The resilience of Ukraine’s defenses, alongside the country’s innovations in drones and missiles, has given Zelensky greater confidence and determination to act, the article argues. But displaying this anger also carries risks.
Just how far he can go in expressing his dissatisfaction is the question Politico raises. Tim Willacey-Wilsey, a former diplomat and fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), considers the Ukrainian president’s frustration understandable, but stresses that expressing it also has negative consequences.
According to Willasey-Wilsey, Zelensky may be counting on the possibility that next month’s midterm elections will weaken Trump, particularly since some Republicans have already distanced themselves from his stance on the oil agreement. However, provoking the American president could lead him to cut off crucial U.S. intelligence support or pressure Elon Musk to disable Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, on which the Ukrainian military relies heavily.
Willasey-Wilsey warns that the Ukrainian leader may not have fully assessed the danger a wounded Trump could pose to Ukraine.
Another threat concerns military supplies. The Financial Times reported on Monday that the Trump administration has also warned it could end the program that allows allies to buy American weapons for Ukraine. If that happens, supplies would face serious disruptions, and Kyiv would be forced to rely more heavily on European partners, who are already struggling to replenish their own weapons stockpiles.
Despite these risks, Zelensky has not backed down. He has linked an end to strikes on Russian oil refineries to an end to Moscow’s air attacks. On Telegram, the Ukrainian president wrote that any action to de-escalate tensions must be reciprocal.
In this confrontation, he has unexpectedly found support among Ukrainian opposition lawmakers, usually some of his fiercest critics. Former President Petro Poroshenko, Zelensky’s bitter political rival, also came to his defense after Trump called for him to be replaced.
Poroshenko said Russia is the country that needs a new leader. In his view, any action should be judged against a single question: does it bring a full and unconditional ceasefire closer?
Opposition lawmaker Mykola Knyazhytsky notes that Trump’s calls for Zelensky’s removal are, paradoxically, having the opposite effect, strengthening his position within Ukraine.
In Knyazhytsky’s assessment, Donald Trump turns out to be Zelensky’s biggest supporter, as each such clash boosts the Ukrainian president’s popularity both at home and among allies, particularly in Europe.
Nevertheless, concern remains in Kyiv that Ukraine could pay the price for an agreement Trump is seeking to reach with Moscow. Ivana Klybush-Tsinchandze, an opposition lawmaker and former deputy prime minister, sees little prospect of Putin accepting a compromise.
According to her, Putin is willing neither to end the war nor to accept a ceasefire. She says that, as far as she understands, all the other agreements American negotiators are supposed to have discussed with the Russians have concerned only Ukraine’s capitulation and, in essence, its demise as a free, independent and sovereign state.
Politico concludes that this may explain the anger Zelensky is openly displaying. He is aware of the cost of confronting Trump, but appeasing an American president increasingly willing to strike a deal with Putin also comes at a price. For Ukraine, neither path offers a good option.
