“I think President Zelenskyy has played it extremely well,” said Volker. “By aligning himself with what President Trump wants, he’s made it clear that the problem is not Ukraine. The problem is Putin.”
The next weeks will be crucial for Kyiv and for Moscow.
“I think Trump is going to call Putin and tell him to end the war. I think Putin will not agree … and I think the Trump team will understand they have to show strength. Show more resolve. And put it all on the table,” Volker said.
That could mean harsher sanctions, substantially increasing U.S. energy exports to starve Putin’s war budget and continued military support for Ukraine. “Not taxpayer money, but there are various ways to do this, including a lend-lease program, including by Europe seizing the €300 billion in Russian assets and using that money to buy U.S. defense equipment,” Volker said. “That will send a signal to Putin: This isn’t going to get better.”
Ukraine’s two bubbles
Zoya Lytvyn, the head of the Global Government Technology Centre in Kyiv, said Ukrainian opinion on Trump is split between two bubbles: those who lionize Western values and align with the U.S. Democratic Party, who are “afraid of Trump and [Vice President] JD Vance.”
Meanwhile, “those in the second bubble are saying we already have seen everything that Biden could do, and the level of support he could provide, and it was not enough.” Trump, at least, “has enough power to bring stabilization.”
