Monday is the third anniversary of the brutal and unprovoked Russian assault on the democratic state of Ukraine. That, at least, is what Ukraine’s allies agreed was the factual reality up until this week when, in a dizzying spiral of invective and lies, Donald Trump adopted the counter-narrative preferred by Vladimir Putin.
In Trump’s re-telling, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was a “dictator” with no popular mandate who bore responsibility for the outbreak of war. The falsehoods were accompanied by a threat that Zelenskiy should “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.
The week’s events have accelerated the US’s 180-degree pivot on Ukraine from staunch ally to transactional quasi-adversary. Leaked documents revealed the punitive terms under which it sought to gain control over much of Ukraine’s reserves of critical minerals. Zelinskiy’s public rejection of that proposal may have been a contributory factor in Trump’s petulant outburst.
There is little to be gained from attempting to psychoanalyse the president’s true motivations. Whatever fruit the tactic of excoriating allies and embracing enemies ultimately bears will take time to become clear. But in less than five weeks, the administration has set off a series of chain reactions with grave long-term consequences.
Pamela Anderson: ‘I felt like life was really like death for me’
Jamie Dornan: ‘I lost my mom, and I lost four of my best friends in an accident. I had a difficult few years’
From journalist to lecturer to Buddhist priest: ‘Everyone is obsessed with their own self’
Pantera live in Dublin review: Growling vocals, crowd surfing and mosh pits. This gig was worth the wait
For Ukraine, the outcome seems set to be more immediate, although the American push for a swift end to hostilities could be frustrated either by Kyiv’s refusal to agree a total capitulation or by Moscow’s calculation that further territorial gains are within reach.
Towards the end of the week, US secretary of state Marco Rubio attempted to reassure Europeans that a bilateral agreement would not be imposed over their heads, while Zelenskiy said his conversation with Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, “gives hope”.
Such calming gestures can only go so far in light of recent events. With Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron en route to Washington next week to meet Trump, further unpredictable developments are possible. But despite the hostility to European values expressed by US vice-president JD Vance, even the most extreme unilateralists in the White House will be aware peace in Ukraine is impossible without European support.
As Ukrainians mark three years of full-scale war, with all the attendant horrors of displacement, destruction and loss of life, they can be forgiven for feeling bitter towards the US voters who elected an administration which, however imperfect its predecessor, has in a few short weeks shown itself capable of the sort of mendacity and thuggish self-interest usually associated with the worst authoritarian regimes. While most of them will long for the war to end, they will be right to fear betrayal in the talks that lie ahead.
