'Clear means of pressure': diplomat on Trump’s threats to Zelenskyy

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

“Unfortunately, we have to worry more than the Greenlanders, because U.S. aid is truly almost existential for us. It’s important to understand that the Trump administration has a lot of leverage. How far will Trump go?

First of all, everything Trump says should be taken seriously. Secondly, he is a person who can make seemingly impossible things possible. Thirdly, there’s the personalization of both domestic and foreign policy—everything depends on Trump’s moods, preferences, and perceptions. He has no shame in expressing his views and interests,” Shamshur noted.

According to the diplomat, the lever of influence on Zelenskyy is obvious: the suspension or termination of U.S. aid, or cutting off intelligence sharing. And that is an extremely painful and dangerous tool for Ukraine. Trump is ready to use it again.

“Even more so now, the discussion is about suspending aid that was already approved and paid for under Biden. We will still have to wait for Trump and his administration to provide any new aid. It’s clear that it will be less, but it’s still a big problem. I believe that in one form or another, this deadly line of argument was used,” Shamshur emphasized.

• On Thursday, March 27, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the U.S. is proposing to sign a full-fledged agreement on mineral resources instead of a framework one.
• On March 28, media reported that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration had reintroduced a condition in the mineral resources agreement requiring Ukraine to reimburse all aid the U.S. had provided since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
• During the government Q&A session in the Verkhovna Rada on March 28, Ukraine’s Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko confirmed that the government had received a draft Agreement from the U.S. on mineral resources and that Ukraine is forming its position.
• U.S. President Donald Trump said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to walk away from an important agreement on mineral resources.