The Trump and Zelensky relationship appears to have soured dramatically.

 

Ukraine's President Zelensky and President Trump during a pre-election meeting. Fox News/Reuters

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine have traded barbs on social media as their relationship appears to have soured. Fox News. Trump harshly criticized Zelensky on his Truth Social account, going so far as to call Zelensky a dictator for not holding elections. Trump also criticized Zelensky for being a "moderately successful comedian" who was only good at getting money from Joe Biden. Zelensky had said that Trump was living in a "disinformation space" after Trump said that Ukraine bears responsibility for the start of the war. The spat comes after high level talks between Russia and the United States, which did not involve Ukraine or Europe. Zelensky has remained President despite his term ending a year ago and has refused to hold elections. 

My Comment:

It appears the relationship between Trump and Zelensky has collapsed entirely. The two men had an apparent good relationship dating back to Trump's first term, but that appears to be over. This spat between the two men is probably the end of their supposed friendship.

I had great hopes for Zelensky when he was elected. He ran as a peace candidate, one that would end the civil war between the Ukrainian ethnic of Western Ukraine and the Russians of Donbass. I had hoped that Zelensky would have agreed to a federal solution where the Russian of Ukraine would have protections and some level of independence. 

Instead Zelensky betrayed his voters and escalated the war instead of ending it. He did nothing to end the anti-Russian laws the country had put into place and he never seemed serious on making a deal with Russia. 

And he has not been a very good wartime leader. The one thing he was good at was as a symbol to folks susceptible to propaganda. But he has made so many errors, from not ending the war when Russia offered a decent peace deal in the early part of the war, to the failed summer offensive in 2023 and the insane Kursk incursion when it was clear the war was lost. None of it was smart and none of it was in the best interest of his people. 

But it was his cancelation of elections that gave lie to the entire western justification of the war. We were supposed to be "defending democracy", whatever that is supposed to mean, but canceling an election is about the most undemocratic thing anyone can do. And no, the war isn't an excuse. The United States held elections during World War II, the lead up to our entry of World War I and, most critically, during our own Civil War. If we could do it then, Ukraine absolutely could do it now. And they should. 

Zelensky is in kind of an impossible situation here. He's rapidly running out of allies, only Europe really supports him now, and that includes factions in his own country. If he does do what Trump wants, at the very least, he will be voted out of office. At worst, he might be assassinated by the Banderite faction, the actual Nazis that have a disturbing amount of influence in Ukraine. But if he further angers Trump he risks Trump throwing up his hands and saying "let Europe deal with it, we don't care anymore". 

It does sound like Trump taking the ball and going home seems to be the most likely situation. If Ukraine won't hold elections, it's the perfect off-ramp for the United States. If Zelensky is replaced than Trump can have an actual partner in ending the war. Either way, Trump wants better relations with Russia and wants the end of US involvement in what he sees (and I agree is) a pointless war that has killed far too many good people on both sides. 

Like I have been saying for awhile now, I still think the most likely end to the war is complete Russian victory. That seems pretty likely now, with Zelensky losing influence and a major deal between Russia and Ukraine difficult to imagine. A deal might be possible but it would require Zelensky to see the writing on the wall and Ukraine to survive long enough to actually hold elections.