The showdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday laid bare the hard choices that lie ahead for the Ukrainian leader as his country continues fighting the three-year war prompted by Russia’s invasion.
After Trump admonished Zelenskyy in front of the whole world, accusing him of “gambling with World War III” for arguing that Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted, Trump’s GOP allies rushed to Trump’s defense, claiming that now might be the time for Zelenskyy to step aside.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a former vocal supporter of Ukraine in Congress, claimed that Zelenskyy “has almost made it impossible to sell it to the American people that he’s a good investment.”
“He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with or he needs to change,” Graham added.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Zelenskyy shot back at Graham, telling reporters in London Sunday that his future is a matter solely for the Ukrainian people to decide.
“The president of Ukraine will have to be chosen not in Lindsey Graham’s home but in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation of his remarks.
The Ukrainian leader appears to be held in high regard in Ukraine despite his tense exchange with the U.S. president. He added that he would be prepared to give up his position in exchange for NATO membership for his country — a prospect that Trump has ruled out.
Alarmingly, Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk said the U.S. should leave the military alliance, raising new questions about the administration’s commitment to NATO.
Mujtaba Rahman, the managing director of Eurasia Group in Europe, said the fallout from Friday’s shouting match “may actually have had the beneficial effect of creating a parallel negotiating track” under which European leaders are now responsible for working on a ceasefire proposal to present to Trump.
The urgency of this moment was on full display during the summit British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted in London on Sunday where many of Kyiv’s backers came together to discuss what they can do to continue to support the country as Trump has made clear he wants the war to end — almost at any cost.
Starmer, who hugged Zelenskyy upon his arrival to Downing Street this weekend, disputed the notion that the U.S. is no longer a reliable ally, noting that America’s role would be crucial in any potential peace plan despite the Oval Office showdown.
“Europe must do the heavy lifting. But to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing,” Starmer said Sunday.
Kin Cheung via Associated Press
In any event, though, it’s unclear if Trump would be willing to take a European proposal on board. Leaders now fear that the Trump administration “is aligned with Russia on the view that a strong Europe is not in their interest,” Rahman told HuffPost.
If that is the case, “how much can an offer from Europe actually move the dial, given the disposition of this American administration?” he asked.
Rahman told HuffPost that European leaders are now primarily focused on articulating what the architecture of a U.S. security guarantee could look like and developing plans for robust financing for Ukraine and the wider continent’s security and defense.
Rahman predicted that Europe would be unlikely to support calls for Zelenskyy to step down if that ended up being the official U.S. position, adding that this is the type of call that would have to be made by Zelenskyy himself.
“I think ultimately, Zelenskyy’s decision would very much hinge on whether he feels the ceasefire deal that is being agreed is credible and has a chance of ultimately working and being implemented in an effective and successful way over time,” Rahman said.
“How much can an offer from Europe actually move the dial, given the disposition of this American administration?”
– Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of Eurasia Group in Europe
For now, though, Zelenskyy has indicated no immediate plans to step aside and seems to think that his relationship with Trump can be repaired.
Trump, though, may already be preparing to throw Kyiv under the bus. He and his advisers are reportedly due to discuss the prospect of cutting off military aid to the war-torn country on Monday, according to The New York Times. The U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest single donor, raising questions about how the country will fare without American support.
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Eric Ciaramella, a Russia and Eurasia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Washington Post it could be counterproductive for Zelenskyy to lead his country’s negotiations with the U.S. in light of recent tensions, given the stakes.
If Zelenskyy proceeds strategically, “he will accept that he cannot fix this personally and will instead appoint an envoy — someone respected in Washington who is not part of his current senior team — to try to get the train back onto the tracks in the coming weeks,” Ciaramella told The Post.
“The alternative, I fear, is that Moscow and Washington will reach a deal over the heads of Ukrainians,” Ciaramella added.