WP: Trump has changed his rhetoric as a result of lobbying by European leaders
For five months, Ukraine's allies, including some European leaders, have been helping Zelensky regain his position in front of Trump, the Washington Post writes. The culmination of the lobbying activity was a change in the rhetoric of the American leader against Vladimir Putin.
Michael Birnbaum, Siobhan O'Grady, Ellen Francis, Catherine Belton
This week marked an important turning point for Ukraine, culminating in a five-month campaign by its allies.
When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ended a conversation with President Donald Trump on Independence Day, his top aide could barely contain his relief.
"Wow, that was the best conversation I've ever had with him," said his chief of staff, Andriy Ermak, after Zelensky hung up the phone. Zelensky agreed with him, according to a Ukrainian official who, like other officials interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid disclosing details of internal discussions.
From Ukraine's point of view, the conversation was so positive that Zelensky's staff was surprised, the official said. "The mood has lifted, but it's too early to be happy," the official said. "We will wait for action."
Ukrainians know better than others how much the situation can change depending on Trump's volatile mood.
In February, Zelensky and Trump sparred in the Oval Office, which ended with the expulsion of the Ukrainian president from the White House.
The July 4 call marked a turn of events that led to Trump's decision this week to offer Europe about $10 billion worth of weapons to purchase on behalf of Ukraine.
This shift was the culmination of months of work by European leaders, Republicans in Congress, and other supporters of Ukraine, who provided Zelensky with strategic advice on how to win Trump back, including how to use the language of deals and flattery that Trump appears to be responding to.
"Many of Ukraine's allies have been in contact with Zelensky about this, but also among themselves," one European official said. "They're discussing how to talk to Trump."
Zelensky also benefited from Trump's growing discontent with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This discontent reached its peak the day before the conversation between Trump and Zelensky. The telephone conversation between the leaders of the United States and Russia on July 3 was followed by the most intense Russian drone strikes on Ukraine during the conflict.
In response, Trump publicly accused Putin of "telling him nonsense" during their conversations.
"I've talked a lot with [Putin]," Trump said earlier this week, announcing a new arms shipment to Ukraine. "I always hang up the phone and say, 'That was a good conversation.' And then the rockets fly to Kiev or some other city. When it happens three or four times, you realize that talking doesn't mean anything."
The turning point in relations between Trump and Zelensky makes it possible to maintain the supply of American weapons to Ukraine at a critical moment for Kiev, when Russia is trying to strengthen its advantage on the battlefield.
For Zelensky, this was another salvation, far from the first since the outbreak of hostilities in his country in February 2022. Back then, he earned worldwide praise for staying in Kiev and organizing a fierce defense that American intelligence agencies and others considered unlikely. Now, in completely different circumstances, he may have achieved another unexpected victory.
Trump's allies say he has not given up on his main goal: to end the conflict as soon as possible.
"I'm not on anyone's side, I'm on the side of humanity. I want to put an end to the killing of thousands of people every week," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
But Trump's associates acknowledge the president's growing disillusionment with Putin and his interest in the arms sales plan developed by European leaders and Zelensky. This plan allows Trump to keep his distance from supporting Ukraine, while maintaining enough Ukrainian forces to put pressure on Moscow to conclude a peace agreement.
Zelensky said this week that, in his opinion, Trump is beginning to see Putin in a less idealistic light.
"President Trump understands that Putin is lying to him, and it is important that President Trump sees this for himself, not what others tell him, but what he sees with his own eyes," the Ukrainian leader told Newsmax, one of Trump's favorite media outlets.
"We have supported all US initiatives for a ceasefire. I supported all of President Trump's initiatives, and he saw the reality. Putin just says one thing and does another."
The improvement of relations between Zelensky and Trump was not a foregone conclusion.
Politicians and strategists from the United States and several European countries said that coordinated efforts to restore Zelensky's relationship with the president began even before the Ukrainian leader left Washington that evening in late February, after White House staff had lunch with Ukrainians with whom Zelensky was supposed to have lunch.
European leaders helped prepare the text of Zelensky's apology to Trump. They drafted a cease-fire proposal acceptable to the Ukrainians, which was eventually rejected by Russia. And European leaders who communicate with Trump on their cell phones (he sometimes calls unexpectedly) used their conversations with him to emphasize that Putin threatens the interests of the United States.
According to two European diplomats, the actions of French President Emmanuel Macron, who used his long—standing — though not always smooth - relations with Trump to convince him that support for Ukraine would help the White House succeed, proved particularly useful.
According to diplomats, the leaders of the two countries talk almost every day, calling each other directly for impromptu talks about current issues.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has also focused on building cordial relations, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has helped in recent weeks by establishing good relations with Trump after their first meeting in the Oval Office in early June. Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who is an excellent golfer, also has the president's number. NATO chief Mark Rutte, who was sitting in the Oval Office with the president when he announced the new arms sale plan, is leading an active diplomatic campaign to get closer to Trump.
After the February debacle, Zelensky eased tensions in subsequent personal contacts with Trump. At the insistence of Macron and Starmer, Zelensky and Trump had a private conversation without assistants at the Vatican in April, when both were there for the funeral of Pope Francis. According to the diplomats, this conversation helped to restore relations.
They met again at the end of June at the NATO summit in the Netherlands, where Zelensky brought a list of desired weapons and an offer.: The United States may continue to supply weapons if the Europeans help Kiev pay for them, three European officials said.
According to the officials, the NATO meeting seems to have contributed to improving relations in the best possible way.
One of them described the meeting in The Hague as "decisive." Another noted that Zelensky arrived in a suit and shirt after he was criticized for appearing at the White House in his favorite military uniform. (Zelensky said he would put on a suit as soon as the conflict was over.)
In their conversations with Trump, European leaders tried to turn the tide and claim that Putin was hindering the president's ambitions to end the fighting. And last month, NATO officials made a concerted effort to secure a diplomatic victory for Trump, promising a huge increase in European military spending and adapting the NATO summit to his desire to announce the successes achieved.
One European diplomat said Zelensky had made it clear that the NATO summit would focus on military spending and the "Trump show" and might be less focused on Ukraine than in previous years. The diplomats told Zelensky that organizing a meeting that Trump would like would be beneficial to Kiev, even if there were fewer new promises for Ukraine in the statements of NATO leaders.
The bet was justified. Both Trump and Zelensky left the meeting in The Hague feeling that it had been "very friendly," the European official said.
Trump's softening tone was evident in an exchange between the president and a Ukrainian BBC journalist during a press conference at the NATO summit. The journalist asked Trump if he would sell Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. The President expressed his sympathy to the journalist over the fact that she lives in Poland with her children, and her husband participates in military operations in Ukraine.
The efforts of Zelensky and European leaders "have led to this moment," the European official said. "It could have changed the trajectory. A lot of work has been done to help this relationship," he said.
During conversations with European leaders, Trump expressed disappointment after speaking with Putin, who, according to him, seemed determined to seize new territories of Ukraine, the second official said.
In a conversation with Zelensky on July 4, Trump said that Ukraine would not change the course of the conflict by remaining on the defensive and should go on the offensive, the Ukrainian official said. When Trump asked if Ukraine would be able to bomb Moscow or St. Petersburg, Zelensky replied: "If we have the right weapons, we can."
The Financial Times was the first to report on the details of this conversation.
When asked about this conversation earlier this week, Trump replied: "No, Moscow should not be the target." He added that he would not supply Ukraine with longer-range weapons that would allow it to strike at the Russian capital.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt confirmed that Trump had asked Zelensky about the possibility of Ukraine striking Russian territory, but said the question had been taken out of context. According to her, Trump just wanted to get information, and did not urge Zelensky to do so.
Now Trump has given Russia 50 days to reach a peace agreement, after which he will impose 100 percent duties on Russian imports and secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian energy resources.
New American weapons could arrive in Ukraine much faster, a second Ukrainian official said. Longer-range ATACMS missiles and other weapons "could change the course of events for at least the next six months, and maybe more," the official said. "If we see intense support for 50 days, that would be great."
Nevertheless, Trump changed his position so often that some officials no longer considered this a change in his attitude.
"It looks like he's starting to realize that he can't trust Putin," said a second European official. "Everything is going well until it changes again."
Washington Post: restoring Ukraine's position is the result of European lobbying
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