“Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the United States of America and I am confident that the support from the United States, as a world leader, one of our largest partners, which has supported us for three years, will continue,” he said.
But that effort at finding some positives doesn’t conceal the sense of betrayal felt in Ukraine as the U.S. shifts from being a crucial ally to a pro-Russia stance as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to rush through a peace agreement.
“It turns out that Trump, having the opportunity to put pressure and influence on Russia and Ukraine, uses this pressure not on the aggressor, but on the victim of aggression,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign relations committee in the Ukrainian parliament. “It looks terrible. Especially when it comes to air defense systems. This stoppage of aid is already a political blow to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come under fierce pressure from the Trump administration following last week’s disastrous meeting in the White House, where he was attacked by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump’s allies are demanding that Zelenskyy apologize for the meeting while Trump’s right-hand man Elon Musk posted: “As distasteful as it is, Zelensky should be offered some kind of amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition back to democracy in Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy insists that Ukraine wants peace, but it has to be lasting and just, which is only possible if Kyiv gets security guarantees that would deter Russia’s Vladimir Putin from attacking again.
