Trump’s Club Over Zelensky
Trump’s Club Over Zelensky
The U.S. President has intensified his stance against Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed that he is trying to prevent a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine in the future through an economic deal with Kyiv, without dragging the U.S. into another war.
Donald Trump recently called Zelensky’s remarks about the premature possibility of a ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia the worst political statement and wrote on his Truth Social page that the United States will not tolerate this behavior from Zelensky for long.
Trump added that the Ukrainian President is not seeking peace as long as he is supported by the United States.
Trump wrote that European leaders have clearly stated in a meeting with Zelensky that nothing can be done without U.S. support. This statement by Zelensky, as a show of power against Russia, was not very appropriate. Trump shared part of an article by an analyst named Michael McQueen on social media.
McQueen has said that an agreement providing the United States access to Ukraine’s rare minerals and other natural resources will help protect Ukraine from Russian aggression.
According to this analysis, Trump is protecting Ukraine without involving the United States in a war by negotiating a mineral agreement. Americans will be involved in Ukraine’s mining industry, and this will prevent a Russian attack because attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American lives, which would force the United States to react.
In recent weeks, Donald Trump has been negotiating with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, over an agreement in which the United States would share in the profits from the development of Ukraine’s future natural resources.
Zelensky was supposed to sign the economic partnership agreement with the United States at the White House during his visit to Washington on February 28, but these plans did not materialize due to his efforts to obtain more security guarantees and a verbal clash with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance over diplomacy capabilities and Ukraine’s negotiation ability.
During the tense discussions at the White House, Trump said Zelensky is gambling with millions of lives and must sign the peace agreement, or the United States will not support Ukraine at all. McQueen believes that ultimately Zelensky will have no choice but to surrender because without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a long-term war against Russia, and when American companies are operating in Ukraine’s mining industry, Putin cannot continue his attack without causing widespread international consequences.
Do not underestimate Donald Trump; in this chess game, he is ten moves ahead of everyone. Trump also wrote on his Truth Social page about the situation in Ukraine during his first presidency, stating that the only president who did not give any of Ukraine’s territories to Russia under Putin’s leadership was President Donald J. Trump.
Security Guarantees and Next Steps
Previously, Zelensky had repeatedly raised the issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership as an acceptable guarantee to support a peace agreement with Moscow. Article 5 of the NATO treaty includes a mutual defense clause that obligates member countries to assist each other in case of an attack on any ally. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly opposed Ukraine’s joining NATO.
Last week, Trump said Zelensky should not seek NATO membership to sign a peace agreement with Russia. European countries have also discussed sending their troops to Ukraine as peacekeeping forces to ensure that the final ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow will hold, but Russia has opposed the deployment of troops from any NATO member countries in Ukraine.
Before the failed conversation between Trump and his vice president with Zelensky at the White House, Trump had declared his readiness to send some arms shipments to Ukraine. However, Trump hoped that with a peace agreement, such assistance would not be necessary.
One day after this meeting, Zelensky wrote on the social network X that Ukraine is ready to sign the mineral contract, which will be the first step towards obtaining security guarantees against any potential Russian aggression in the future.
He added that this contract is not enough, and we need something beyond this. A ceasefire agreement without obtaining security guarantees for Ukraine is dangerous. We have been at war for three years, and the people of Ukraine must know that America stands with them.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary, in response to CBS News, said Zelensky’s statements in the Oval Office indicate his unwillingness to negotiate with Russia and contradict the U.S. efforts to bring the two countries to the negotiating table and end the war.
He added that signing an economic contract without a peace agreement that ends the Russia-Ukraine war is not possible. In my opinion, we need to see whether Mr. Zelensky intends to continue or not. If he wants to continue the war, what benefit will signing an economic contract have?
Trump is calling for a peace agreement. The Trump administration has currently suspended the mineral agreement with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that on Tuesday she will inform member countries about plans to strengthen Europe’s defense industry and military capabilities. She added that undoubtedly we need a massive defense wave. We want lasting peace, but lasting peace is only built on power, and power begins with strengthening ourselves.
Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, also responded by saying that the country is using every available diplomatic channel to cooperate peacefully with the U.S. and will make every effort to maintain the relationship with America. He added that U.S. military aid was invaluable and saved thousands of lives.
Shmyhal added that his country still has the necessary resources to supply its frontline forces and is simultaneously seeking ways to increase domestic weapons production. He stated that Ukraine has only one plan, which is to win and survive. Some European leaders have also taken a tougher stance on the White House and the verbal clash between Trump and Zelensky.
Friedrich Merz, the winner of the recent German elections and likely the next Chancellor of the country, called what happened at the White House an artificial escalation. He said at a press conference in Hamburg that this was not a sudden reaction to Zelensky’s interventions but clearly an artificial escalation in this Oval Office meeting. Merz added that Europe must now show that we are in a position to act independently.
Despite having intense and ongoing discussions about strengthening their defense capabilities, European leaders still emphasize that engaging with the new U.S. administration is a priority. Friedrich Merz also said he supports any action to keep Americans in Europe.
Details of the European Plan
The European Commission has presented a plan to secure 800 billion euros from European countries for the defense of this continent.
This plan was presented amid tense interactions between the European Union and the U.S. over Ukraine and Donald Trump’s dissatisfaction with this continent’s underperformance in funding its military costs, including in NATO. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented this plan to EU leaders on Tuesday, saying a new era is on the way. She called the current situation one of the most critical and dangerous periods for Europe. In her letter to EU leaders, von der Leyen wrote that the continent is facing an obvious danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our lifetime. She also told reporters in Brussels that securing 800 billion euros will equip the continent with the necessary weapons and cover the costs of a safe and strong Europe because if we are not prepared, we may face devastating consequences.
Most of the 27 EU members have expressed concern over the Trump administration’s contacts with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and, by questioning Mr. Trump’s performance, have considered it a preemptive concession to Russia.
These countries are worried that Russia might attack Ukraine again, which is considered European soil, or target some other European countries.
European Union countries are also under pressure from Donald Trump, who continuously emphasizes the need for these governments to increase their share in funding NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Mr. Trump is calling for five percent of the GDP of NATO countries to be allocated to the alliance’s quota. European leaders have recently said they are witnessing a major change in U.S. policies towards Europe and need to stand on their own feet.
According to news agencies, the plan presented by Ms. von der Leyen to EU countries in its first part proposes suspending current strict laws so that the 27 members of this union can increase their defense spending without incurring severe budget deficits.
The second part of the European Commission President’s proposal offers a mechanism for member countries to receive 150 billion euros in loans for defense investment.
Ursula von der Leyen emphasized better spending and shared costs among member countries, saying this will include air and missile defense, artillery systems, ammunition, drones, and anti-drone systems, from which Ukraine can immediately benefit.
The third part of the proposal is based on directing budgets towards defense investment.
A joint meeting with the participation of EU countries, NATO, and the UK is scheduled for Thursday in Brussels.