The prospect of Trump returning to power in the United States next year has raised questions about the future of the conflict, as the Republican has been critical of US military aid to Kyiv. Zelensky spoke a day after saying the war will end “sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Trump becomes president.
He also spoke a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first phone call with a major Western leader, speaking to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who initiated the call despite Kyiv’s objections.
“For our part, we must do everything we can to ensure that this war ends next year. We have to end it by diplomatic means,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian radio.
There have been no meaningful talks between Russia and Ukraine, but Trump’s re-election has plunged the attritional conflict’s future into uncertainty, with the Republican repeatedly promising to cut a quick deal to end the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will only accept talks with Ukraine if Kyiv surrenders Ukrainian territory that Moscow occupies. The Kremlin said he repeated that demand in the phone conversation with Scholz on Friday. Zelensky has rejected Putin’s conditions.
Zelensky said on Saturday that Russian forces were suffering heavy losses and that the advance had “slowed down” in some areas. Ukraine was “at war with a state that does not value its people, that has a lot of equipment, that does not care how many people die”, he added.
JeffKerman1999@sopuli.xyz 21 hours ago
I mean without support from the USA and the EU the Russians will steamroll Ukraine. So it’s better to end it now that there is still some room for bargaining than just let putin win.
If the EU has just a bit of spine we’ll take over the burden. Otherwise Ukraine will be a stepping stone for putin to go and invade the rest of the ex-URSS countries.
Valmond@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
We must absolutely not give any victory to putin, or he’ll just continue (and others will be encouraged to do the same).
The EU gives more to Ukraine than the USA, but we need to step up the arms deliveries if the muricans back down.
WoahWoah@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
The problem isn’t simply the US not sending arms to Ukraine, which the EU could then compensate for. Do you really want to get into a military technology pissing match with the United States? Because the problem you have is if the Trump begins sending arms to Russia in response to the EU “prolonging the war” by making up for the US no longer among Ukraine.
Oh, but what about NATO obligations, you might say. Well, Trump has long wanted to leave NATO. Trump’s team has already pointed out that there is executive authority over foreign policy, and they will argue Trump therefore has the authority to unilaterally withdraw from NATO. And it’s quite possible he will, especially if NATO countries align to defy his attempt to end the war by stopping arms to Ukraine.
It’s important to note that without the United States, NATO’s collective defense capability would be crippled. The U.S. accounts for 68% of total NATO defense spending, providing the backbone of the alliance’s military power, advanced technology, and rapid response capabilities. This dominance means that European allies, even collectively, cannot match the U.S. in terms of strategic lift, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, or modern weapons systems, all of which are critical to NATO operations.
U.S. withdrawal would leave a power vacuum that Europe is neither financially nor militarily equipped to fill, effectively gutting NATO’s ability to deter or respond to threats. Without the U.S., NATO as a credible military alliance would collapse under its own weight, leaving its members exposed and vulnerable to external aggressors. If the EU is worried about Russia continuing to expand its territory through force, the best way to make that happen would be to piss off the United States. Trump wouldn’t even need to do anything except leave. If he’s also arming Russia, say good night. The EU, even collectively, is wildly outmatched here.