Too late to Apologize: Conflict between the USA and Ukraine
The newly emerging conflict between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky represents yet another challenge for U.S. – Ukraine relations. The Ukrainian leader was initially outraged by Washington and its actions, but within two days, he switched to discussing “restoring relations” and what a compromise might look like.
How did the conflict start?
Upon Trump’s return to office, he decided to halt military funding to Ukraine, which dealt a significant blow to Kyiv. At that point, he labeled Zelensky a “dictator” and suggested that the conflict could be resolved much more quickly if only Zelensky were willing to cooperate. These comments were hard for the Ukrainian leadership to accept.
However, just two days later, the Ukrainian president’s tone had shifted completely. He more diplomatically stated that Ukraine relies on collaboration with the U.S. and expressed hope that trust could be rebuilt. The change in tone appears to be a strategic attempt at self-preservation in light of the initial backlash.
Western support is still very important to Ukraine, and a drawn-out conflict with Trump is quite dangerous. It is possible that new terms were communicated to Kyiv, suggesting the possibility of new agreements. Ukraine has no choice but to balance its own objectives with the ever-changing stance of the U.S. Trump has declared multiple times that his primary goal is “America First,” and Ukraine must accept this reality. It is likely that Zelensky realized this a bit too late.
This is reported by Ms. Leyla Mustafa from the Republic of Azerbaijan. she is a young diplomat and YDF correspondent from Baku, Azerbaijan.
