Trump doesn’t like Zelenskyy: how presidential sympathies may shape Ukraine's future

The new U.S. administration truly has a rather biased view of Ukraine. What can be said about Trump's flattering tributes to Russia regarding the joint victory in World War II, where there was no mention of the contributions of the republics that were the main striking force against the Third Reich's invasion? Or his deafening and unpleasant statement that Ukraine "could be Russian one day, and maybe not." The Russians immediately seized upon this, claiming that Ukraine is eagerly trying to become Russia. And it wants it so badly that it is already being absorbed piece by piece. Of course, no one mentions that these pieces are becoming part of Russia only after battles and scorched earth.

Trump has a rather cold attitude towards Ukraine's president, which is why, over the past month, members of his team have been bombarding with hints about mandatory elections after a ceasefire is achieved.

Additionally, Keith Kellogg, special representative for resolving the Russian-Ukrainian war, hinted that there is more than one candidate for the upcoming democratic elections.

Prudent people say that Trump still hasn’t forgiven Zelenskyy for those conversations from July 2019 when the current U.S. president sought dirt in Ukraine on his political opponent Joe Biden.

That phone call with Zelenskyy led to Trump’s impeachment in the lower house of the U.S. Congress, though the Senate acquitted him.

On September 21, 2019, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the main candidate for the Democratic Party in the 2020 presidential elections, called for an investigation into the information that Trump, during a phone conversation with Zelenskyy, may have pressured him to start an investigation against Biden and his son. This interference in the American elections became the trigger for why, after winning, Biden did not take Zelenskyy seriously. And now, in his second term, Donald Trump is no longer subtly hinting to the president that many decisions regarding Ukraine will be made without him. In fact, with his low approval ratings, it’s time for him to focus on the elections.

On February 12, Zelenskyy and Trump had a conversation, during which our president rightly pointed out that Putin could easily deceive the American president. Trump agreed, acknowledging this and considering security guarantees for Ukraine, such as European peacekeepers or other options.

However, what happened next clearly prompted Zelenskyy to take action and impose pressure on Petro Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition party, whose ratings had significantly risen.

After phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy, Trump held another press conference at the White House. Recently, there have been many of these, not all of which are worth attention, as they are filled with a lot of empty talk. But he was asked whether he expected Ukraine to be an equal participant in this peace process.

And Trump, amidst his speech about hope for a ceasefire, mentioned that a country fighting against Russian invasion would "at some point" need new elections. Naturally, these words triggered Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who seeks to be the top leader in terms of ratings. But for two years, other powerful men in military gear seem to have surpassed him.

Trump also added that polls show a decline in support for Zelenskyy. These unpleasant words struck the president and prompted him to call the National Security and Defense Council.

Trump further called the return of Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders, before Russia annexed Crimea, "unlikely" as part of a negotiated ceasefire. "They’ve captured a lot of land, they’ve fought for that land and lost many soldiers. I don’t have an opinion on this, but I’ve read a lot about it, and many people believe it’s unlikely. Some of it will come back. I think some of it will come back, yes," said Trump. This signals that President Zelenskyy is not likely to embrace an unfavorable peace deal as a hero, given the numerous issues - from coffee in Crimea to retribution against generals and opposition leaders.

Another interesting detail from Axios about the conversation between the two presidents:

"At the end of the conversation, Trump gave Zelenskyy his personal number and said that he could call him directly, while Zelenskyy promised to gift Trump a champion’s belt from Oleksandr Usyk," the publication writes.

Not long ago, Usyk attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington with a "certain political mission." He recently announced plans to end his sports career. Usyk’s name has also been appearing prominently in trust rankings for influential media figures.

This might create an opportunity to bring such a figure into the enhanced Zelenskyy-project to overshadow the team of Arakhamia and Bezuhla - creating some competition for the leading figures in the rankings who are generals not just in words but in action.

On the positive side - Trump is definitely not inclined to prolong the war the way it happened in Afghanistan. There is also a clear thesis from all members of the current Washington administration that peace should be long-term, not short-term.

However, this opens up new scenarios and threats for Ukraine. Russia will certainly seize the opportunity to interfere in our elections and repeat the "Georgian scenario" on our territory. So, it's not enough to just stop the front and fix the line of combat - task number one is to protect us from the rise of political forces who, while talking about the EU and NATO, will actually pull us towards Moscow. If Moscow succeeds, it will add five new regions to its Constitution with every stage of aggression. The question of turning Ukrainians into Russians will only be a matter of time.

Exclusively for Espreso

About the author. Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolaeva, journalist.

The editors don't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.