So, it’s official now: Trump talked to Putin over phone. His team rebuked Zelensky over the weekend over Crimea. Trump junior just trolled the former comedian. On the other hand, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now very eager to talk to Putin. He openly admits now that the EU bloc is split, is divided on the issue of Ukraine!
Well, it surely looks like Ukraine’s nightmare. And it’s coming true! The developments that we mentioned happened over the last 48 hours. And they herald only one thing: The war in Ukraine is coming to an end and yes, in a way that is going to be very painful for Zelensky.
Let’s start with Trump-Putin call now! The agenda was of course Ukraine! Trump urged Putin not to “escalate” the conflict, reminding him of the significant US military presence in Europe. The duo also spoke about “the goal of peace on the European continent.” Kyiv meanwhile was distressed to know about this development, who complained that Ukraine was not informed about the talks in advance. Well! Dear Ukraine! Trump didn’t inform you because the Earth revolves around the Sun, and not Ukraine!
The second major setback for Ukraine came from Trump’s eldest son, Trump junior. The junior declared that Zelensky might soon lose access to American aid. He described Ukraine leader as “greatest salesman in the history” for his ability to milk Joe Biden of tens of billions of dollars. Now, Trump junior posted this picture on his Instagram story, that must have sent chills down Zelensky’s spine!
The third setback for Zelensky came from a senior advisor to Trump. The Trump administration 2.0 may not push to help Ukraine get all its land back, the advisor declared over the weekend. BBC reported that Trymp ally Bryan Lanza mentioned that they would urge Zelensky to think practically about a peace deal.
Lanza remarked that if Zelensky insists on getting Crimea back, it would mean he isn’t serious about peace. Russia took over Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a long period of tension.
Lanza said, “If Zelensky says peace can only happen if Crimea is returned, he’s showing that he isn’t serious”
He continued, “If Zelensky is saying that fighting will only stop when Crimea is returned, we have news for him: Crimea is gone.”
Lanza also warned that if Zelensky doesn’t follow America’s advice, he may be left to handle the crisis on his own without expecting help from the U.S. military.
Moving on! Let’s see where the EU bloc is standing now vis-à-vis Ukraine! Well, Olaf Scholz is already down to pleading Putin for a phone call. Scholz said yes, I’m willing to talk to Putin “in the near future,” given that a consensus with “partners” can be reached. Earlier, Scholz said the EU was heavily divided. He in fact acknowledged a stark rift with Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The German chancellor noted that not all EU members were on the same page when it came to handling the crisis. “I don’t want to hide the fact that there are different positions. You can see that publicly. The views expressed by the Hungarian prime minister here on this issue are not the same as those I represent or those of many other friends in Europe who are very committed to saying that it is a high priority to guarantee Ukraine the required support,” he said.
All in all, the split in EU is not a good sign of Ukraine! Kyiv expected EU to ramp up aid in the face of faltering support from US, but looks like EU’s top priority is to put its own house in order. And that leaves Zelensky and his war-torn country hanging in balance.
