The heated discussion between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky began when he challenged Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine through diplomacy. As an example, he brought up the Western failure to stop Putin “after he annexed and occupied Crimea in 2014.” It is true that the Minsk agreement with Russia, France, and Germany that followed was unsuccessful but the United States was not a party to it. Furthermore, Putin occupied Crimea because the corrupt and compromised Ukrainian Army did not defend it. Not one shot was fired. Even Zbigniew Brzezinski, a great friend of Ukraine, said that this disqualified Ukraine from membership in NATO. Only after this disaster did the Ukrainian government ask the West for advice on reform of the Ukrainian Army from its Soviet model. As a result it was much better prepared to face the Russians in 2022.

President Zelensky often uses half-truths and power moves to get his way in his dealings with foreign leaders. This is because the Ukrainian diplomacy retains its Soviet political culture. He often starts his conversations with a litany of requirements and claims, making unreasonable demands in a categorical tone. There is no room for gratitude for gifts provided in this paradigm. Ukrainians take a moral high ground tone and disdain for others and their legitimate interests. They feel free to lecture their benefactors. They demand privileges but refuse to fulfill conditions which are often attached to them. Their arrogance and a sense of entitlement grate.

This was demonstrated numerous times in Zelensky’s dealings with other foreign leaders but was ignored. The most public was a speech that Zelensky gave on September 19, 2023 at the United Nations General Assembly where he said that “…it is alarming to see how some in Europe play out solidarity in a political theatre... They may seem to play their own role but in fact, they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor.” Thus, he implied that Poland, his earliest and most ardent supporter, is feigning solidarity with Ukraine while indirectly supporting Moscow. This was in response to objections of the Polish government to the flood of cheap Ukrainian grain that was driving Polish farmers out of business. Then, he cancelled the meeting with his “brother” President Andrzej Duda and walked out on his presentation. Thus, Zelensky often uses the Putin card to get what he wants and seems to switch sides unexpectedly.

Zelensky’s actions also seem to be connected to new political calculations for a changing geopolitical orientation of Ukraine toward closer cooperation with Germany. In his speech to the UN Security Council the same year, Zelensky put forward a proposal to appoint Germany and some other countries of the global South as permanent members of the UN Security Council, thus altering the balance of power established after World War II. Germans seem to have promised the Ukrainian government membership in the European Union and substantial aid in exchange for support of German geopolitical goals. They are to become a dominant leader of the centralized EU and a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations, thus damaging the leading position of the United States and supporting a multipolar world.

It is evident that Zelensky forged relationships with leftist European elites and it is possible that this is a reason for his challenge of Donald Trump’s strategy for peace and sabotage of the U.S. rare minerals agreement that was a part of it. Polish portal W Polityce reports that about a month ago Zelensky made a proposal to the European governments and offered them access to strategic natural resources in Ukraine. In response, on February 25, the European Union presented its own proposal on critical minerals to Zelensky. Even though Zelensky agreed to the American proposal, ultimately he did not sign it. Maybe he is counting on a better deal from the Europeans.

However, the Europeans are unable to provide arms or security guarantees to Ukraine without the United States, and political maneuvers cannot change it. The United States is the main sponsor of Ukraine and it has a credible strategy for peace. It is unclear how this public challenge will affect Zelensky’s position but it is evident that the spat in the White House was not about tempers but the most vital national interests and plans for the future. 

Image: Nancy Pelosi