Why Trump's rhetoric on Ukraine has changed: A diplomat names the reasons

Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine is connected to the fact that Kyiv did not agree to the terms for ending the war imposed by the new administration, as well as the fact that the United States has illusions about being able to pull Russia away from China. 

Oleksandr Khara, Director of the Center for Defense Strategies, shared this opinion on "Espreso".

"I have a few theories on why Donald Trump started such sharp rhetoric towards Ukraine. The first is that it’s his signature political style. Specifically, being aggressive, never acknowledging defeat, and continuing to pressure his opponents. In fact, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s position somewhat disrupts Trump's game of getting closer to Putin. The Ukrainian issue is actually quite small for him. Of course, he really wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but Russia is important to him for other purposes, ranging from commercial to strategic ones. Therefore, his rhetoric on Ukraine might be a reaction to the fact that Trump failed to impose this deal on us. We don't know the details, but what we read in open sources looks like a scam," Khara explained.

The diplomat emphasizes that by fulfilling all of Putin's demands, Donald Trump believes he can destroy the partnership between Russia and China, as in Trump's administration, China is considered the main strategic adversary of the United States.

"Another version seems more strategic. The fact is that in Trump's administration, as well as the previous US administration, they believe they can pull Russia away from China. China is considered the greatest strategic threat to the US. In fact, if they give Russia Ukraine - part of Eastern Europe - they could pull Russia away from China, but now it turns out that it’s precisely because of Ukraine and its unwillingness to sign the deal that this plan is being disrupted," he noted.

What preceded this

On February 18, Trump said at a press conference that the level of trust in the president in Ukraine had dropped to 4%. In response, Zelenskyy said that Trump "lives in an information space of disinformation".

The White House leader also raised a complaint about the aid to Kyiv, amounting to $350 billion: "We’ve given Kyiv, it seems, $350 billion. Well, maybe a little less, but it’s a significant amount. But where is all this money? Where is it going? I’ve never seen any report about it".

"We have completely different figures. Everything is very clear for us: the war has cost us $320 billion. $120 billion comes from us, the people of Ukraine, the taxpayers. $200 billion comes from the USA and the European Union. These are the weapon packages," Zelenskyy replied.

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