Trump uses Ukraine to blackmail Europe

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.  

'Trump and his administration have put the Europeans on the same level. And the Americans have grounds for this, because after three years of war, the Europeans still can't get it together and even appoint one representative to negotiate a peace treaty, as Zelenskyy has called for. Two rounds of consultations have passed under Macron's initiative, but there is still no leadership. Trump is now putting much more pressure on the Europeans than on Ukraine, meaning he is blackmailing the Europeans with Ukraine,' said Oleh Rybachuk.  

According to him, Trump is pressuring those who have money. And the Europeans have money, moreover, they are showing that they are ready to use it, including buying weapons for Ukraine, increasing trade by purchasing both weapons and energy resources from the U.S.  

'But Trump then faces a risk with Russia because it is definitely an unreliable partner. Putin believes he can deceive Trump again, not skimping on compliments and playing into his authoritarian or imperial ambitions. And here Trump faces a kind of "fork": on one hand, he openly likes people like Putin, but on the other hand, the economic potential of Europe and Russia is incomparable. Will Russia give Trump gas and oil? That's a bit funny because Trump actually wants America to become the biggest producer,' the politician commented.

In his opinion, regarding investments in Russia, it will take decades to revive and begin exploiting new gas fields in the frozen Siberia. 

 'Trump's team says that they probably can't get significant concessions from Putin himself, but they can significantly pressure and weaken, if not detach, countries like China, Iran, and North Korea from Putin. The U.S. is selling this to us and to Europeans. They say that we can weaken this axis of evil in the Middle East through Israel and their own sanctions. But when there is a formal sense that Trump is joining the axis of evil in his rhetoric, especially regarding Ukraine and the European Union, it clearly contradicts what members of his team are declaring,' Rybachuk concluded.

• Ukraine must resist with dignity, clearly showing the injustice of Trump's demands and how, in the long term, they will lead to a strategic catastrophe for the U.S. and its allies.