A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, journalist and political scientist Kyrylo Sazonov shared his vision of the results of the meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in New York. In his opinion, Trump's position on Ukraine changed after eight months of war, when it became clear that the Kremlin's promises of a "quick victory" turned out to be empty. Sazonov emphasizes: now it is increasingly obvious to Washington that Russia is a "paper tiger" that is unable to implement its plans. More details in his post.
It seems to me that such assessments are caused not only by public, but also by some backstage promises of “friend Vova”. Which he confidently failed in eight months. Putin has probably been sending such signals to Trump over the phone and through Vitkoff since the moment of his election. They said, wait, don’t rush to support Ukraine, which has lost. Listen, in three months we will capture the entire Donetsk region, surround Kharkiv. They can give up four regions themselves or we will capture them soon, but the result is inevitable. Trump nodded, looked at the political map, listened to Vitkoff and sincerely believed.
Yes, great and terrible Russia, with a powerful army and economy. They will take everything. And Zelensky should be glad that he is still offered such a soft scenario of surrender. There are no cards, what is the point in agony? And there is no point in signing up for someone who lost - pure loss and shame. In principle, this is what Zelensky was talking about. That Trump honestly warned him, by the fall Putin will occupy this, what are we going to do?
But eight months have passed. And Trump began to suspect something. None of the promises of “friend Vova” have been fulfilled. Ukraine will not lose, and the position of “passers-by” is very damaging to the Kremlin’s image. Therefore, I do not exclude that before these meetings with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump called Putin again. “It seems to me that you lie too much,” the US president said to “friend Vova.” And hung up.
No, starting tomorrow we will not be flooded with caravans of free weapons and equipment. And two hundred Tomahawks will not fly at targets in the swamps. In general, little will change in reality, except for the trend. There will be fewer and fewer interruptions and problems in cooperation and supply, or there will be none at all. Sanctions against Russia or its partners will be added. And Trump will have another discovery ahead. The discovery that Russia is a paper tiger, but not a tiger. You can't make a tiger out of toilet paper. It has other functions.
