Analysis: Why does the Ukrainian president insist that the matter is not personal with Trump even though it is?

Analysis by Ufaq News colleague Stephen Collinson - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ufaq News on Thursday that “nothing personal” stands behind the recent cooling of his relationship with US President Donald Trump. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian president, who is leading his country during wartime, this could not be further from the truth.

Everything related to Trump's presidency has a personal nature. Trump has replaced the values ​​that have guided modern American presidents — who worked to consolidate democracy and confront tyrants — with his own values, which are based on projecting dominance, courting autocrats, and pursuing lucrative deals.

As a result, Zelensky now faces one of the most critical — and hard to believe — questions of the war: Does Ukraine’s fate depend not only on its ability to fend off Russian aggression, but also on the possibility that the United States has joined Moscow’s camp? Trump does not hide his personal dissatisfaction with Zelensky, who - through no fault of his own - precipitated the first impeachment proceedings against him from office.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Trump embraced the Russian demand to change the president of Ukraine. Trump's personal political interests have begun to shape the features of American foreign policy. The fuel deal, which could pump billions of dollars into Russian President Vladimir Putin's war machine, came at a time when Trump was under pressure to prove to voters his ability - in the midterm elections - to reduce high fuel prices.

The same applies to his demand that Ukraine abandon one of its most effective tactics: attacks on Russian oil refineries. Donald Trump's unique political persona has often undermined peace efforts.

His continued desire to please Putin led the United States to put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions, rather than pressure on Russia. Instead of siding with the offended party, he ended up rewarding the aggressor.

This approach has taken on a more pronounced character in recent weeks. After nearly two years supporting the Russian position at the rhetorical level, Trump began to take practical steps to strengthen this position. He invited Putin to attend the G20 summit, and is considering holding a meeting that includes the “superpowers” ​​- with the participation of the Russian leader and Chinese President Xi Jinping - in an attempt to end the war without Ukraine’s presence. He also refuses to send “Patriot” missiles to repel Russian air attacks.

Ukraine points out that its access to the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink network is still facing disruptions, which limits the speed of its drones and reduces their effectiveness. Although Trump denies responsibility for this, it is not clear who is responsible within the US administration for this matter.

In a scene that clearly reflects the moral opportunism of the White House, Steve Witkoff, Trump's envoy, this week in St. Petersburg, described Putin - who is accused of war crimes - as a "humanitarian", in the presence of Putin himself. Trump justified this praise as a necessary step to secure the release of US citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russia.

However, this accelerated strategy - which is based on providing successive incentives to the Russian leader - has proven a miserable failure in ending the war. Putin continues to deny Trump's assertions about his desire for peace, by launching bloody missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. One of these attacks recently targeted civilian buses, killing a one-year-old girl who was in her vehicle.

Trump has not condemned such attacks. “We will persevere.” The effects of the ongoing suffering that his country is experiencing were evident on Zelensky’s face during his interview with Christiane Amanpour, a broadcaster on the Ufok News network. While he was very keen to avoid a new clash with Trump, Zelensky pledged never to give up his principles or waste the sacrifices made by Ukraine. He appeared dignified and determined, while implicitly issuing a call for a return to an American foreign policy based on traditional American values.

The Ukrainian leader has no choice but to try to mend his relations with the American president. He is the only world leader who can - if he wants - apply pressure for a real peace process. But Zelensky has clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with some of Trump's recent moves, including the diesel deal and the rollback of implementing a new US sanctions law targeting Russia.

“This will only provide Putin more money for this war, and that is why I am against it,” Zelensky said. We will do our best to bring peace closer, but we will not give Putin any chance to win this war.” He stressed that he did not want to enter into personal disputes with Trump, as he said: “It is not about personalities; There is no personal disagreement between me and President Trump.” “Break us, destroy us, kill us.” This worsening impasse raises two very serious questions: How will this war - which is becoming more brutal by the day - end?

The conflict is getting more serious as the Kremlin opens a new front of "hybrid warfare" against Ukraine's European allies. These bleak prospects leave Ukraine and its European allies no choice but to continue engaging in diplomacy, even if they do not trust the unbalanced peace efforts proposed by Trump.

This week witnessed two minor developments that offered a glimmer of hope. Following Witkov's visit, Russia agreed to join trilateral peace talks involving Washington and Kiev. Zelensky also renewed a proposal to freeze the current confrontation lines, in an attempt to push for a ceasefire and open the door to diplomacy.

But these steps do not amount to breakthroughs; The technical talks that Russia has agreed to attend will not start until mid-November, which means more weeks of killing still lie ahead. At best, these talks could lead to a long-term diplomatic process; It is customary for Russia to continue fighting even as it negotiates.

Moreover, Zelensky had previously presented multiple ceasefire formulas and diplomatic initiatives to end the war, but Putin ignored them all. There is no indication that the latest Ukrainian proposals will tempt him this time.

However, there are still hopes that the current tensions between Ukraine and the United States will not derail the diplomatic path; Previously, the sharp differences between Zelensky and Trump faded over time, thanks to intense European diplomatic efforts to bring the views closer. US officials also reported that the talks that took place this week in Norway - with the participation of Zelensky and European partners - had made progress and created momentum for the upcoming tripartite talks.

The general formula for any peace agreement has been clear for years; It includes a truce that could keep Russia's seized territories, security guarantees from the United States and/or Europe for Kiev, plans for a large-scale post-war reconstruction program for Ukraine, and a framework governing NATO-Russia relations in Europe. But Putin has shown no indication that he is willing to accept less than his maximum demands.

Why would he do that, while Trump continues to make concessions to him? Through negotiations, Russia seeks to seize strategic lands in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, areas that its forces failed to control on the battlefield, despite incurring heavy human losses.

Zelensky told Ufuq News that he could not accept conditions like these in any way. Because "many died defending this land, and defending our independence and our country." While Trump insists that Putin wants to reach an agreement, Zelensky appears to have a more realistic view of his opponent's ambitions; He said: “Putin plays, he is a player.

This is unfortunate, because he is playing with the lives of others.” He added that Putin’s goal is “to break us, destroy us, and eliminate us.”

However, the hell that Ukraine is experiencing, and the increasing possibility of the war extending beyond its borders, leaves no choice but to test Putin's intentions again. This means dealing with Trump's temperament and personal goals.

Zelensky cannot allow personal considerations to stand in the way of this path.