Trump redoubles pressure on Zelensky to submit to the polls before June and give up Donbas: “He has to move”

In just over a year, the United States has gone from an ally of Ukraine to a simple mediator to clearly siding with Russia, hoping that a ceasefire, any ceasefire, will earn its president the coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

The date itself does not mean much because Trump changes the ultimatums as he pleases, but he makes it clear that he is in a hurry, as he is with Iran, whom he has given four weeks to decide.

His intention is to dedicate the summer exclusively to domestic politics and prepare for the midterm legislative elections, if they are held in the end, something that Trump himself is not particularly excited about.

In the words of the American president, Volodímir Zelenski “must move” to reach an agreement. It is not known what the consequences would be otherwise.

For Trump, “moving” means calling presidential elections even with martial law activated and much of the territorial sovereignty threatened by Russian missiles.

In addition, Ukraine would have to withdraw from the areas of Donbas that it still occupies.

Although Zelensky is taking steps for Parliament to allow those elections that the Constitution prohibits – this is not a presidential prerogative, as Trump seems to assume – the latter is non-negotiable for the future of Ukraine as an independent country.

Giving up Sloviansk and Kramatorsk would be suicide.

Both cities are being bombed in recent days by Russia, but, four years after the start of the war, there is no way in which the invading army can launch an effective ground attack on the largest fortress that Ukraine has in the east of the country.

In fact, Russia has not even been able to take Pokrovsk yet, a task it has been doing for more than a year. The situation on the front remains one of almost absolute stagnation.

Europe, with Ukraine

Zelensky did show his willingness at the time for that part of Donetsk to remain demilitarized, as a kind of security zone for a possible new Russian offensive.

Vladimir PutinHowever, he does not give in… and since Putin does not give in, Trump squeezes whoever he considers weaker.

It is impossible to understand that the White House has so easily bought into the narrative that Russia is winning and that its absolute victory is inevitable.

There is not a single piece of data to support this thesis: Ukrainians are cold, have serious problems with anti-aircraft defenses and, of course, die on the front.

None of this has helped Russia make minimally significant progress.

This is where Europe comes in and, in that sense, Zelensky was surely comforted by hearing the words of the president of Finland, Alexander Stubbwho assured within the framework of the Munich Security Conference that Putin had lost the war, both diplomatically and purely militarily.

Stubb stressed that the objective was to “Russify” Ukraine, but Ukraine is more united than ever to the West. Putin also wanted to limit the reach of NATO… and the entry of Finland and Sweden has only expanded it.

Furthermore, as we said, Russia’s territorial advances in a war that will soon enter its fifth year are less than what it achieved in 2015, with the forcible seizure of a good part of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Unable to finish the job, Putin hopes that Trump will be the one to do his homework, but, in this fight, Europe continues to show itself on the Ukrainian side.

Abandoner and Zelenski

What can Trump do, then? Presumably he doesn’t care what his European partners and NATO allies think. In fact, he has always ignored them and excluded them from his negotiations.

The United States organized a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the month and is preparing another in Geneva for next week, but, no matter how much it insists that this is a European problem, it does not accept its mediation.

Even Marco Rubio He canceled his planned meeting with European leaders in Munich due to “scheduling problems.”

Zelensky is the most valued foreign leader in the United States, while Putin, no matter how much part of the MAGA movement insists, is among the most hated along with Kim Jong-un.

Leaving him completely alone would be counterproductive for his image, which he does seem to care about a little more. His own party, or at least the majority of its lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate, also advocate some form of aid to Ukraine.

Even Elon Musksurprisingly, has positioned itself on the Ukrainian side by cutting off the Russian Army’s access to Starlink satellite technology, which is causing real chaos on the front, since drones no longer have the effectiveness they had before.

Russia does not pay for Starlink, as Ukraine does, but they were taking advantage of that technology through pirated devices that have now been duly disabled by the South African tycoon.

However, despite everything, the ties that unite Trump with Putin and Russia seem too strong. It doesn’t matter that the Russian leader continues to make fun of the American negotiations, sending his cultural advisor to Geneva as head of the delegation, Vladimir Medinskynor does it continue to attack civilian targets, from playgrounds to hospitals or residential buildings.

From the White House, pressure will always be placed on Zelensky because they believe it is the shortest way to win the medal… and because the would-be autocrat’s fascination with the Russian dictator is absolute. And that is difficult to fix.