Ukraine and US Alliance Shakes as President Trump Blames Ukraine for the Russian Invasion

By Matthew Grace

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Trump on February 28th to discuss a
potential deal over rare earth minerals between Ukraine and the US which devolved into Trump
and Vice President JD Vance harassing and belittling the Ukrainian President. Trump told
Zelensky, “you’re gambling with World War III” and “you’re not acting at all thankful”
regarding US military support for Ukraine, to which Zelensky responded he had been thankful
many times. Trump told reporters “I am not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United
States of America, and for the good of the World…I want to get this thing over with”. Vance
defended Trump’s words as “diplomacy” and accused Zelensky of attempting to “litigate in front
of the American media”, accusing him of running propaganda tours and campaigning for
Democrats in Pennsylvania during the 2024 election and being ungrateful. Vance demanded
Zelensky to “Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the
President who’s trying to save your country, please”, yet on February 24th, the US sided with
Russia, Belarus, and North Korea against the UN resolution that condemned Moscow’s actions
and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity at the UN General Assembly. Furthermore, the US had drafted and voted on a resolution at the UN Security Council which called for an end to the war without criticism of Russia’s actions. The resolution passed with Britian and France abstaining after
failing to amend the wording by veto. This resolution premiered days after Trump and French
President Emmanuel Macron expressed their “sharp” differences regarding Ukraine and Europe’s
security.

Zelensky told Trump, “During the war, everyone has problems…But you have nice
ocean and don’t feel now. But you will feel it in the future. God bless, you will not have war”.
Trump quipped back telling Zelensky “Don’t tell us what were gonna feel”. Trump later postedon social media that Zelensky is not ready for peace. The United States’ relationships with both
Ukraine and its historical European allies have been strained and the future of European security
against Russian aggression appears uncertain.