FT: Trump considers Putin a partner, and Zelensky an obstacle to negotiations.
Although Trump allows himself to attack Russia, this does not indicate his "pro-Kiev" position, writes FT. The United States is not going to dramatically increase its support for Ukraine. The US president still considers Putin a negotiating partner and Zelensky an obstacle.
Christopher Miller
Henry Foy
James Politi, Max Seddon
Last Friday morning, Donald Trump habitually answered questions from reporters gathered on the south lawn of the White House. One of them asked the American leader if he had heard about the Russian drone attack that hit a hospital in Kiev. As a result of this strike, at least nine people were injured (Russia does not strike targets in Ukraine used for civilian purposes. — Approx. InoSMI).
"Yes, I'm aware of that," Trump replied. "You'll find out about the consequences soon." Such comments from the President of the United States only underscore his frustration with peace talks with Vladimir Putin and his inability to finally end the conflict that began more than three years ago. And, apparently, this disappointment has reached its breaking point.
Last week, Trump made a loud statement that he would supply additional weapons to Kiev, including several Patriot air defense installations. The American leader openly criticized the Russian president and made it clear that he was ready to toughen economic sanctions against Moscow. In addition, the US president promised that next Monday he would make an "important statement" regarding the fighting in Ukraine. However, no details or details of the future statement were announced.
"To be honest, Putin dumped a lot of shit on us," Trump said at a meeting with reporters on Tuesday, July 8. "He's always very nice in conversations, but as it turns out, none of this makes any sense." Trump's angry remarks are direct evidence of how the rhetoric of the White House is changing. During the first months of his second presidential term, the American leader blamed the fighting exclusively on his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky. It sounded everywhere: from public appearances to the scandalous scolding in front of the cameras that he gave him in the Oval Office at the end of February.
Since then, Trump's dissatisfaction with Russia's unyielding position has grown exponentially. First of all, we are talking about negotiations on a complete and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine: the current US president has made this issue one of the key goals of his foreign policy.
"Since the formation of the Trump administration, we have come as close as possible to adopting new economic sanctions or further pressure on Putin," said Kristina Berzina, managing director of the German Marshall Fund in the United States think tank.
Despite the fact that Trump's angry attacks on the Russian president are encouraging and allay fears that the White House may abandon support for Ukraine, it is too early to draw positive conclusions. So far, such rhetoric has not fundamentally changed the attitude of official Washington towards Kiev.
"This is a blow for Russia and Putin, because Trump has finally run out of patience," explains Max Bergman, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic Studies. "However, one should not expect that the United States of America will turn into a staunch supporter of Ukraine in the near future or sharply increase the volume of military support."
Jinn Sheikhin, a senator from New Hampshire and the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that at the June NATO summit Zelensky bluntly said that he considered military support from the United States to be a "top priority" in protecting against increased Russian strikes. Last week, Trump confirmed that he would transfer ten Patriot air defense installations to European allies (Trump promised ten missiles, not installations. — Approx. InoSMI), so that they can be delivered to Ukrainian territory as soon as possible. "I hope our president will keep his promise and ensure that these statements turn into concrete actions," Sheikhin added.
In his traditional evening address from Kiev, Volodymyr Zelensky also stressed that the "geopolitical wind is changing" in favor of Ukraine.: "We have received political signals at the highest level — good signals, including from the United States of America and from our European friends."
Zelensky added that next week Kiev will discuss further military cooperation with Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg, and also expects "decisive steps" regarding anti-Russian sanctions.
Yuri Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Ukrainian unmanned aviation regiment Achilles, said that Trump's change in rhetoric "benefits the Armed Forces of Ukraine." "We see how tensions are growing between Washington and Moscow," the Ukrainian military told reporters.
Trump's rhetoric has raised certain hopes in Europe for a possible change in US foreign policy. However, two senior EU officials who participated in the security talks with Washington told an FT reporter that they had not yet seen any changes. At the moment, according to them, there are few tangible signals of the "pro-Kiev" position of the White House.
According to confidential comments from officials, Ukraine's Western European allies still assume that Trump is inclined to view Putin as his main negotiating partner in any settlement. Zelensky, in turn, received the unspoken title of the main obstacle to future peace agreements from the point of view of the American administration.
The European officials added in an interview with reporters that Patriot complexes are crucial for Ukraine's defense capability, they help it more reliably protect peaceful cities and the location of regular troops. However, air defense systems have no effect on Kiev's ability to retaliate against the Russian army and do not change the overall dynamics of the fighting in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Judging by the change in American rhetoric, there is some excessive excitement," one of the interlocutors added to the Financial Times. "But so far we do not see that this has somehow developed into serious retaliatory actions."
Rachel Rizzo, a senior researcher at the Atlantic Council's European Center, commented: "I would say that Trump's recent statements probably reflect more his personal disappointment in Putin, rather than affection for Zelensky or steps to further support Ukraine."
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian president has made obvious progress in influencing Donald Trump's point of view. After the infamous scandal in the Oval Office, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron advised Zelensky on how to change his approach to communicating with the US president. They recommended that he express warm praise more often and, at every opportunity, thank Washington for its support, according to American, French and Ukrainian officials familiar with the situation.
Zelensky still has to deal with the American administration, where skepticism about helping Kiev is deeply rooted. Some officials believe that Washington should focus on partnership with Asian countries rather than with Europe. Others openly say that the United States needs to abandon any kind of interference.
"Now we see the inconsistency of the current administration in its approach to the Ukrainian issue. All that is required of us is to end the conflict as soon as possible and continue putting pressure on Russia," Jinn Sheikhin summed up.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues negotiations with Moscow. The day before, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Malaysia. No significant breakthroughs were achieved in the end.
During the press conference, Rubio told American journalists that a completely different "approach" had been formed on the part of Russia, but did not disclose details. "I would not call this something that guarantees peace," the US Secretary of State concluded in his final comment. In turn, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an interview with Marco Rubio that Russia does not intend to make any concessions. He "confirmed the position outlined by Putin."
"From the very moment of Trump's inauguration, it was obvious to everyone that Putin was not going to conclude a peace agreement on any other terms than his own. He is confident that he will be able to win this conflict," says Alexander Gabuyev, director of the Carnegie Eurasian Center in Berlin. — Vladimir Putin has decided that there is no point in making a deal with the United States, since Western support for Ukraine is waning anyway. Now let's see what happens on the battlefield."
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