LOS ANGELES ()c).–Wrapping up the Ukraine War, 38-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t trust President Donald Trump’s security arrangements, fearing with a long-term settlement the U.S. would abandon any security provisions. Zelensky doubts any settlement with Russian President Vladimir Putin fearing the U.S. would not follow up with any arrangement to defend Ukraine. Trump has been clear that while he backs Ukrainian security, he doesn’t want to set back U.S.-Russian relations, something he’s determined to fix. Under former President Joe Biden, U.S.-Russian relations had hit a Cold War low with Biden funding proxy war with the Kremlin. Trump has done everything possible to restore U.S.-Russian relations, not something he wants to en from a post-war skirmish. Trump wants Zelensky to get along with Putin, not continue to proxoke confrontation.
Before the Feb. 24 Russian invasion, Putin gave Biden plenty of notice, urging hims to discuss new security arrangements for Ukraine. When Biden spurned Putin’s overtures over several months, Putin eventually moved his army into Ukraine. Putin objected to Biden arming Ukraine to the teeth, causing problems for Russian national security. Zelensky, for his part, kept provoking Putin, saying he wanted NATO membership at the earliest possible time. Zelensky knew that Ukraine seeking NATO membership was red line, whether NATO accepted Ukraine or not. Yet Zelensky, even to this day, wants NATO membership, all because Article 5 mutual-defense pact would force NATO to defend Ukraine. NATO doesn’t have the resources to go to war with the Kremlin for Ukraine. Zelensky thinks everyone should jump on the bandwagon to defend Ukraine.
Trump officials have told Zelenskythat if he doesn’t sign on to Trump peace plan, there would be no post-war security guarantee, largely because the war would continue indefinitely, as long at the EU foots the bill. Zelensky asked the EU on many occasions to turn over 200 billion euros in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. EU officials like French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer were ready to give Zelensky frozen Russian assets until Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever objected vehemently fearing a loss of credibility to the EU’s banking system. Zelensky didn’t care abou EU credibility, he only wanted the cash. Zelensky has been hung up on ceding eastern Donbas to Putin, preteding he has control of the territory. Russia has controlled Donetsk and Luhansk since before the Feb. 22, 2014 Maiden Revolution.
Zelensky has been playing around with Trump’s peace plan, insisting that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be preserved. Yet fighting a bloody four-year war has cost Ukraine 25% of its territorial integrity, with Putin advancing on more Ukrainian territory by the day. So, when Zelensky refuses to sign Trump’s peace deal claiming that Ukrainian sovereignty must be preserved, he’s already given away 25% of Ukraine’s sovereignty in four years of fighting. Trump tried to reason with Zelensky on many occasions about cutting his losses, ending the war and starting to rebuild his country. Zelensky refuses to admit to the Ukrainian people how much sovereign territory he’s lost in four years of war. Zelensky can’t end the war without ceding Donbas to the Kremlin. Putin has said very clearly from the beginning Zelensky must pull his troops out of Donbas.
White House officials deny that they’ve coerced Zelensky into signing a peace deal where he surrenders Ukrainian territory to Moscow. But anonymous sources say that if Zelensky doesn’t sign the peace deal, the White House will lnot provide security to Ukraine. Trump wants to continue improving U.S.-Russian relations, something Zelensky finds sickening. Zelensky can’t understand why Trump would want any relations with Putin. Before Biden wrecked U.S.-Russian relations funding proxy war with the Kremlin, the U.S. cooperated with Russia on urgent global matters, including arms control. Once Biden funded proxy war, arms control was discontinued, prompting Trump to seek cooperative relations. If Zelensky had his way, the U.S. would have not relations with the Kremlin. But U.S. foreign policy and national security requires pragmatic U.S.-Russian relations.
Zelensky has come to the end of the road when it comes to stalling on a peace deal for the Ukraine War. Whatever post-war security arrangement, Zelensky will have to cede Donbas to the Russian Federation if he wants the war to stop. Putin has made clear his minimal requirements for ending the four-year-old conflict. How ironic that Putin offered Zelensky the same deal in March 2022, only weeks after the war started. Putin wanted to guarantee the independence of the Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, both Russian speaking provinces that want to part of the Kiev government. So, when you consider that Putin already controls the territory since Feb. 22, 2014, you’d think Zelensky would jump at the chance of ending the war. Whatever security arrangement Trump promised Zelensky, he doesn’t want to end U.S.-Russian relations.
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.
