LOS ANGELES.–Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky acts like he’s calling all the shots in the two-year-old war in Ukraine with the Russian Federation, only lately changing his mind on letting Russia attend upcoming talks in Switzerland. Zelensky has demanded since the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion that all Russian troops leave Ukraine before considering any kind of peace talks with the Russian Federation. Zelensky has said in the past that 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin must be replaced before he would consider talks, acting like he’s the only one setting conditions. Receiving the lion’s share of his cash for Kiev government from the U.S., Zelensky doesn’t consider the burden on U.S. taxpayers to subsidize his salary and pensions, those of his cronies and Kiev’s civil servants. Zelensky has been pushing the U.S. Congress to approve 81-year-old President Joe Biden’s request for $60 billion.
Without admitting it, the Ukraine War could not go on without U.S. cash-and-arms, something Biden looks committed to but faces growing opposition from conservative in Congress aligned with former President Donald Trump who’s vowed to end the war, if elected, in 24-hours. Zelensky rejects Trump’s idea of de-funding the conflict, inviting Trump to visit Kiev. Trump is emphatic about ending the colossal drain on the U.S. Treasury from the Ukraine War, rejecting all of Zelensky’s excuses that the Ukraine War stops Putin from conquering other Euroean countries, especially former Soviet satellites. Trump doesn’t buy Zelensky and Biden’s claptrap that the Ukraine War defends European democracy. Trump knows it’s NATO’s job, not Ukraine’s, to defend European democracy.
Zelensky’s apparent change of heart that he would consider inviting Russian officials to upcoming Swiss talks doesn’t itself say much other than he’s agreed to back off his more adamant position, demanding that all Russian troops leave Ukraine before any talks can begin. Zelensky has recently blamed the loss of bombed out Ukrainian city Avdivka to the Kremlin on dwindling supplies of armaments because the U.S. has not reauthorized more funding. Ukraine War funding is currently hung up in Congress, with 51-year-old House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) refusing to talk about funding unless Congress has a border security bill. With Trump’s landslide win in South Carlolina last night over 51-year-old former U.S. Amb. Nikki Haley, Trump holds more sway over conservatives calling the shots in the House. Trump wants to cut Ukraine funding regardless of whether Johnson gets a border security bill.
Zelensky’s concession about letting Russia attend Swiss talks is no real concession at all because Kiev still demands that all Russian troops leave Ukraine. Putin has offered Zelensky several chances to end the conflict but not on Kiev’s terms. Putin offered two years ago to end the conflict if Kiev recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and accepted Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Zelensky rejected Putin’s demand and went to war instead against the Kemlin, making an irreversible mistake. Russian troops were in Donetsk and Luhansk before the war defending Russian-speakers interests and will no doubt remain in the Donbas region for the foreseeable future. When it comes to Crimea, Russia has controlled the past Ukrainian territory since March 1, 2014, the date of Kiev’s pro-Western Maiden Revolution, ousting the Kremlin-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych. Putin had no choice in 2014 but to defend his Black Sea naval base.
Zelensky hasn’t kept pace with fluid changes in the U.S. with Trump marching toward the Republican nomination. “There can be a situation in which we together invite representatives of the Russian Federation, where they will be presented with the plan in case whoever is representing the aggressor country at that time will want to genuinely end this war and return to a just peace,” said Zelensky Chief of Staff Andry Yerrmak. Yermak knows that it’s a non-starter for Kiev to insist on Zelensky’s past unacceptable proposals. Kiev thinks agreeing to a Swiss peace conference gives it political cover, when, in fact, it only makes Zelensky look like he sets unrealistic conditions. When Trump wraps up the GOP nomination, it will put more pressure on Zelensky to make more concessions or face the very real prospects of a complete funding cut.
Signaling that he would invite a Russian delegation to Switzerland, Zelensky has already hinted that he may have to pivot off his inflexible position on concessions to the Kremlin to end the Ukraine War. Several past peace proposals have all said the same thing: Ukraine must accept territorial concessions with Russia to end the conflict. When Putin gave his interview with Tucker Carlson Feb 6, Putin said he’s open to talks to settle the conflict in Ukraine as long as it’s mutually beneficial. Zelensky’s past demands to have all Russian troops leave Ukraine, including Crimea, or for Putin to be prosecuted in The Hague’s International Criminal Court, are all non-starters. If House Speaker Johnson blocks Ukraine funding and Trump locks up the GOP nomination, Zelinsky will be forced to get serious about peace talks. Zelensky’s hasn’t caught up with the new reality.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
