LOS ANGELES.–Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to gaslight 78-year-old President Donald Trump with a new deal to let U.S. companies mine Ukraine’s mineral wealth in exchange for continuing the war with the Kremlin. Trump has been in secret talks with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, something Zelensky fears because his Kiev government has grown dependent on U.S. cash-and-weapons. Trump knows that Zelensky lost the war at least two years ago but probably from Feb. 24, 2022, the beginning of the Ukraine War. Trump said recently that Zelensky never had a chance with Russia’s superior military, a bad mistake that Zelensky gambled and lost. Suddenly, now that he’s faced with a peace deal negotiated by Trump and Putin, Zelensky wants to entice the U.S. into continuing the war in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Trump spoke of Ukraine’s rare earth mineral deposits to repay the U.S. for its $300 billion investment in Kiev’s infrastructure and the war. “If were are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelensky said, seeking security guarantees from the U.S. Zelensky fears that any ceasefire or peace deal wouldn’t come with the kind of security guarantees, like NATO membership, that would prevent another war with Russia. But Zelensky’s zealotry about a mineral deal with Trump is an attempt to delay the peace process something well in the works with Putin. Trump and Putin decided that it’s in the U.S., Russia and Ukraine’s interests to stop the bloodshed. Trump has been emphatic about stopping the unnecessary lost of life from the war. Zelensky fears that any peace deal would expose to Ukraine that he lost the war.
Zelensky tried to sell his “victory plan” to the U.S. and European Union, begging NATO for membership, but, if that wasn’t not possible, then a continuation of long-range ballistic missiles and permission to strike deep inside the Russian Federation. Zelensky thought he could swing the momentum in his direction by invading the Kursk border region Aug. 8, 2024, now occupying as small portion of Russian’s western border. But Putin didn’t take the bait, continuing his offensive on the 600 mile battle front, not diverting troops to the Kursk region. North Korea supplied Russia with over 10,000 troops and artillery shells, part of a mutual defense treaty created because of 82-year-old President Joe Biden’s incompetent foreign policy. Biden drove China into an economic, military and strategic partnership with the Kremlin, much like he did with North Korea.
Biden said he would break the Russian military and economy after the Ukraine invasion, applying the most punitive economic sanctions on any country in U.S. history. Instead of harming Russia, Biden fueled increased oil sales to China and India, both remaining neutral in the Ukraine War. Actually, China and India, the most populous countries on earth, expanded oil purchases from Russia, compensating for the Russian oil embargo in the U.S. and EU. “We need to stop Putin and protect what we have—a very rich Dnipro region, central Ukraine,” Zelensky said, giving Trump another excuse to continue the war. Whatever rare minerals Ukraine has, it’s not going to stop Trump from negotiating with Putin and end to the Ukraine War. Trump wants to restore normal diplomatic relations with Russia, including the resumption of arms control agreements and cooperation in other areas.
Zelensky shows how clever he is in gaslighting the U.S. and EU to continue a war he has no chance of winning, if winning mean driving Russian troops off Ukrainian soil. Putin annexed Crimea March 1, 2014, after a Feb. 22, 2014 CIA-backed coup toppled the Kremlin-backed Kiev government of Viktor Yanukoych. Putin had a naval base and other military installation in Crimea on a long-term lease. So, the Maiden Revolution, had consequences, forcing Putin to annex Crimea to protect his military assets. When it comes to the current Ukraine War, Biden decided he would cut his losses during the Obama administration of watching Russia seize the Crimean Peninsula. Former President Barack Obama did nothing to stop Putin seizing the strategic land mass. Zelensky once told U.S. and EU lawmakers that the Ukraine War prevented Putin from seizing more European territory.
Zelensky has given every excuse under the sun to continue getting the billions in U.S. cash-and-arms to continue the war. Trump saw long ago the utter waste and futility of the war, not only costing the U.S. Treasury billions but destroying Ukraine in the process. Zelensky keeps talking pie-in-the sky that he would vanquish the Kremlin with more cash-and-weapons. Well, that never happened, with Ukraine running out of troops and logistic fighting a superior Russian fighting force. Trump said Zelensky made a big mistake going to war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022 when he could have settled the conflict by ceding Russia Crimea and recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelensky rejected Putin’s offer and went to war with the Kremlin but only at U.S. expense. Trump wants the war over to stop the bloodshed and drain on the U.S. Treasury.
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.
