Ukraine demonstrates it's possible to stand up to Trump, – political expert

When many Ukrainians, in response to remarks from some minor bureaucrat—whether in Washington or Brussels—who cluttered our minds with their opinions, eagerly picked it up and smeared the filth being thrown at us across our faces, as if it were some kind of healing mask, pretending that this is the way things should be.

It turned out that it’s possible to say 'no.' And not just 'no,' but even to the President of the United States—standing firm in one’s position, which is a sign of maturity.

Ukraine has confidently moved from 'you owe us 500 billion' to 'maybe we’ll earn 350 billion together.' To me, this is a very correct approach. How this project will be implemented—time will tell. If there is no specific military aid and security, first and foremost, then the question will arise: why should American companies be given priority at all?

Aren't the British good at extracting oil, rare earth metals, or can't the French, for example, enter our energy sector? If they, for instance, are going to provide nuclear guarantees and send their soldiers here, then we should first deal with them. 

And all the others—at the "living queue". Because we need to build relationships primarily with countries with which we have mutual dependence, common danger that we need to protect ourselves from, and mutual interests that will bind our countries at many levels.

I believe there will be many nuances that will be impossible to implement. But even if not—of course, we will be threatened again, shouted at, and stomped on. But we always need to remember the precedent of the mythical 500 billion that were supposed to be "drawn" for us, from which we refused. We must defend our necessary position and understand that Western politicians can lie in the interests of their countries.

Especially when it comes to the fact that Ukraine will be buying weapons with Europe’s or the United States’ money. We are moving to commodity-money relations. We have goods, we have money. And no one owes anyone anything anymore. Of course, we also need to develop our own production, so that we do not rely on anyone—our own military equipment, our own air defense systems, so that we can later turn our noses up at the proposal to buy, for example, Patriots.

We will politely ask if there will be access to technologies, and we will be ready to buy your currently unconfirmed scrap metal at a discount. That is, we need to become stronger ourselves. We need to develop our own production so that we are not dependent on anyone, and as the French did, for example. They now have maximally localized productions, closed production cycles that are not tied to America.

And that's why the demand for their airplanes, their military equipment, is growing rapidly due to the unstable policy of the U.S. at this stage.

Moving on to specifics.

The published statistics regarding the fall in the GDP of the United States. In the first quarter, this immediately affected oil prices. This is an additional blow, first and foremost, to Russia. Since this tsunami, triggered by Trump to restart his economy, cannot be stopped.

Saudi Arabia has already announced that it will not support oil prices.

Russia is already reacting to such gloomy news. The issue of budget sequestration is being raised. The second issue is the freezing of bank deposits, which is also being actively discussed.

The situation will only worsen over the next few months, not years. Because, unlike the previous administration in the U.S., which needed high oil prices due to the "green transition" (for which the Russians could fight forever), the current administration does not need high oil prices or Russian oil. At least, I haven't heard anyone in Ukraine throwing tantrums about strikes on oil and gas infrastructure after the change of power in Washington.

Systemic blows are being delivered to countries that support Russia—specifically to Iran. Additional sanctions are being imposed. "Unknown" individuals organized an explosion at one of Iran's major ports. Sanction pressure on China continues (tariffs here should be considered practically sanctions). With its silent consent, arms supplies and production are coming from North Korea, and support for Russia continues. That's why I don't understand the sympathies towards China from some of our citizens, just because of an aesthetic rejection of the current government in Washington. One can have different views on the U.S. and their policy now (which, by the way, is already changing under the pressure of circumstances), but we can definitely say about the U.S. that they have never built concentration camps as a systemic practice, as Russia, China, Iran, and even some European countries have done.

And again, we always need to remember the precedent for defending our own interests. Because no one will defend your interests but us. And always adhere to the principle that the people of Odessa described quite well. If I paraphrase, "You are big and famous somewhere, and in Odessa, you're barely—barely a cat."

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About the author: Taras Zahorodniy, managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group

The editorial does not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of blogs.