Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s praise for Donald Trump amid his U-turn on peace talks with Russia may be a last-ditch bid to play into US president’s ‘warped fantasy’ about the war, an expert has said.
Today, Zelensky reiterated his gratitude for US support after JD Vance accused him of not being thankful enough – and it could be that Zelensky believes this is ‘what it will take to ensure the further survival of his country’.
Zelensky said: ‘We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.
‘And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.’
Chatham House Russia Expert Keir Giles spoke to Metro about how Zelensky’s statement – and its timing – is in a bid to appeal to Trump’s ‘warped fantasy world’, rather than focusing on the arguments based in reality which ‘enraged’ Vice President JD Vance and Trump.
‘His specific mention of javelins is important because this is a central part of the mythology created by Trump supporters that he had been ‘tough on Russia’ in his first term,’ Mr Giles explained.
‘But as with so much else, the appeal to the decision to provide javelins to Ukraine depends on collective amnesia about what led up to that decision and how it was implemented. These were not weapons supplied to the front line for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia.’
The Javelin missiles were provided on the key condition that they would be stored in western Ukraine, Mr Giles said, over 1000 kilometres away from what is now the frontline of the war, where they’re desperately needed.
‘Supplies of Javelin were used as leverage in Trump’s much weightier concern of how to blackmail Ukraine into discrediting his political opponents,’ Mr Giles said.
‘This statement from Zelensky, just like others we’ve heard from Western European politicians about building bridges to Trump, is pandering to a version of reality which is well understood to be distant from the facts, but which is essential in order to engage with Trump.’
Zelensky’s statement today came just hours after the US paused life-saving military aid to Ukraine, which is critical to defend against waves of Russian ballistic missiles, as a ‘punishment’.
Zelensky offered his country’s rare-earth minerals for security guarantees, and vowed to ‘sign it in any time and in any convenient format’.
He wrote on X: ‘None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.
‘My team and I stand ready to work under Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.’
Mr Giles concluded: ‘Zelensky may have made a judgment that this is what it takes to ensure the further survival of his country, or he may, depending on the terms of the deal, have assessed that actually this is so unlikely ever to come to fruition that he has little to lose in signing the mineral agreement.’
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