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Volodymyr Zelensky, in an unusually bold move, said three important things yesterday. He said that US President Donald Trump is considering whether to respond positively to his request to supply Ukraine with a US weapons system so powerful that it could persuade his sworn enemy Vladimir Putin, even by simply threatening to use it, to stop the war and negotiate with him.
He also said that the Kremlin would do well to seek refuge to save its own skin, because Ukraine will consider it a legitimate target for its own weapons, and perhaps, somewhat obscurely, for those supplied by its allies. Finally, he said that he has no intention of extending his political career beyond achieving the desired peace with Russia.
Each of these three points, touched upon by Zelensky in an interview with Barak Ravid of The Axios Show, is extremely important. Starting with the last one, in which he assures that his goal "is not to continue running even in peacetime, but to end the war."
Zelensky says he explained to Trump last Tuesday in New York that if there is a ceasefire, "I can use this period to send a signal to the Kiev parliament to that effect," because "I understand that Ukrainians may want a leader with a new mandate" to manage the process that should lead to a long-term peace with Moscow.
However, the rest of Zelensky's statements are extremely threatening to the Russian leadership. Expressing confidence in a new American weapons system that Trump is "allegedly working to sell to Kiev," the Ukrainian leader implied that all of Putin's power centers could become targets. "We will not bomb civilians because we are not terrorists, but the Kremlin will have to decide to stop the war, or rather look for bomb shelters, because they will need them. They should know that we will respond to any attack every day," Zelensky said.
And Trump knows, the Ukrainian president made it clear, that we only need one thing, which we need but may not necessarily use.
Zelensky's aggressive tone appears to be a consequence of Trump's latest shift in focus on the war in Ukraine. And while Trump reiterates that he is "very disappointed in Putin, who needs to be stopped because his economy is in ruins and he can't win the war," a White House source, however, adds fuel to the fire, arguing that his comments on Russia do not indicate a change in policy towards Ukraine, but rather "are a negotiating tactic to put pressure on the Kremlin."
The New York Times, which has no sympathy for Trump, goes further: by claiming that Kiev can win and regain lost territories, the US president actually intends to "wash his hands of the conflict after failing to keep his promises."
In other words, Trump oscillates between opposing extremes, but neither of them highlights an American role in the war.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was even more direct.
"Better the truth than an illusion. This surprising optimism hides a desire for less American involvement in the war, leaving it in the hands of the Europeans." It remains to be seen whether this will take the form of giving Zelensky powerful weapons before Washington backs down. In the meantime, I am reminded of Moscow's recent description of Trump, whose words it disregards: "a serial dispenser of random statements." One of the very rare cases when the Kremlin is likely to have told the truth.
Nuk ruhet stani me ljepuj, pideofila, mashtrues, injorante e zagare. Stani do qener ujq qe ta ruajne stanin. Keshtu theni ne Shqiptaret e pakte qe kemi mbetur se shumica jane kethyer ne skiplaluce.