Russia-Ukraine War / Is Russia playing with Trump's own 'Trump Card', how Zelensky's future is at stake

Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine seems to be in a fix due to the "trump card" of US President Donald Trump, who is trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war. At the same time, Russia has also agreed to negotiate on the Ukraine war at Trump's behest. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself has expressed his desire to meet Donald Trump on this issue. The first round of talks has taken place between Russian and US officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, Ukraine was not involved in this dialogue, due to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is angry.

Opposition to Zelensky

Zelensky says that Trump is relying on Russia's misinformation. Therefore, Ukraine will not accept any talks and agreements between Russia and America. On the other hand, Trump, unhappy with Zelensky's remarks, has mocked him by calling him a mere comedian. Trump has said that Ukraine wanted more than $350 billion from America for a war that can never be won. But Zelensky used the Biden administration and took advantage of America. Due to this, tension has increased between Trump and Zelensky.

Russia's position

Is Russia going to benefit from this tension between the US and Ukraine? Is Russia playing with Trump's trump card? Experts from all over the world are giving their opinion on this. According to Lena Surzhko Harned, Associate Teaching Professor, Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, Zelensky was excluded from the discussion on the future of his country held in Saudi Arabia on February 18. There was neither any Ukrainian representative nor any EU member in this dialogue. Only the US and Russian delegations and their Saudi hosts were in the talks. This meeting was welcomed with enthusiasm in Russia.

Is America following Putin's policy?

Experts believe that the US is moving ahead in line with Putin's policy. It has no role in deciding about the future of Ukraine, in accordance with Putin's policy of weakening his neighboring country. Putin has long been rejecting the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government. Although the US delegation has said that Ukraine will be included at some stage in future discussions, the actions and statements of the Trump administration have weakened Ukraine's position. The US is now following Russia's plan to try to delegitimise the Ukrainian government and advocate for elections in Ukraine as part of a peace deal.

US defaming Ukraine

According to experts, questioning Zelensky's legitimacy may be part of Russia's strategy to weaken Ukraine's support from its key allies. Meanwhile, Putin has claimed that his country is ready for peace talks, but many observers are skeptical of his claim. Russia's attacks are still continuing, and it has not accepted any temporary ceasefire agreement. Russia is trying to show that Ukraine has no legitimate leader with whom it can negotiate.

Setting terms in Saudi Arabia meeting

At the meeting in Saudi Arabia, the US discussed elections in Ukraine as a key part of the peace deal. "We have a situation where there have been no elections in Ukraine. There is 'martial law'," Trump said at a press conference on February 18. Experts say Trump falsely claimed that Zelensky's approval rating had dropped to "four percent", while recent surveys found it to be 57 percent.

Zelensky is not backing down from elections

According to experts, Zelensky is not against elections. He has said that elections should be held at the right time. Zelensky said on January 2 that "after the martial law ends, the parliament will decide the date of the election." He said on January 4 that "elections cannot be held during the war." Opposition leaders in Ukraine also agree that now is not the right time for elections. Zelensky's main political rival Petro Poroshenko and Ina Sovsun, leader of the opposition Golos party, have also rejected the idea of ​​wartime elections.

Conclusion

Trump's policy regarding the Russia-Ukraine war is in controversy. The decision to keep Ukraine out of the talks between Russia and the US has increased tensions between Zelensky and Trump. Russia is trying to take advantage of this situation, and the US steps seem to weaken Ukraine's position. Now it will be important to see how this crisis between the US, Russia and Ukraine is resolved in the coming days.