Ukraine’s Harsh Reality: Why Zelenskyy Still Needs Trump’s Support

It was a sad view to witness and perhaps one of the most humiliating and disgraceful moments televised live at the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump of the United States, together with his Vice President, J.D. Vance, berated and disgraced the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

It could be likened to what one might see in a pre-match briefing in combat sports, where opponents engage in cheap words to get their supporters rallied up before the physical combat. But in fact, rewatching the clips, the heated exchange between Trump and Vance against Zelenskyy was far worse. In part, because the two countries had convened for a peace talk that was supposed to initiate the possibility of a peace deal to end the three-year war between Ukraine and Russia.

However, it appears that Donald Trump and his Vice President were not so keen on a peace deal. Instead, they were there, in front of the world, and at the comfort of their ‘intimidating Oval Office,’ to not only humiliate Zelenskyy but also to remind him that without the US, his country, literally and realistically, would be devoured by Vladimir Putin of Russia.

I first realized that Trump was deliberately trying to ridicule Zelenskyy when, upon the arrival of the Ukrainian President, he commented, “He is all dressed up today.” Take a moment and reflect—have you ever seen Zelenskyy dressed in anything other than his usual military-style, all-black clothing? In fact, reports would later emerge that Trump’s team had advised Zelenskyy to ditch his usual outfit for a more ‘formal’ (and by formal, they meant a Western suit) attire for his meeting with Trump.

When the obviously overzealous Brian Glenn, host of Real America, mockingly asked, “Do you own a suit?”—adding that many Americans had issues with him for not respecting the dignity of the Oval Office simply because he did not wear a suit—Trump and Vance appeared to maintain a straight face despite the humiliating nature of the question.

But that was just a prelude to the entirely embarrassing heated exchange, one of the worst we have seen televised live in the Oval Office. It all began when Zelenskyy attempted to point out that the occupation of Ukraine by Putin dates back beyond the Biden administration and that Putin had operated with little restraint regardless of who was President of the US. This statement, which was a simple fact, was seen as an insult to Vance, who was determined to defend his boss at all costs. It would be a little digression to point out here that Vance was once a staunch critic of Donald Trump, who, in 2016, called Trump an ‘idiot’ and at one point even compared him to ‘Hitler.’

But now, in his new role as Trump’s attack dog, he fiercely opposed anyone who dared to suggest that Trump had ever done anything wrong or had failed to restrain Putin during his first term in office. Hence, he took offense at Zelenskyy’s history lesson and called it propaganda, accusing him of disrespecting the Oval Office.

“First of all, during war, everybody has problems. Even you, but you have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now, but you’ll feel it in the future,” Zelenskyy attempted before he was cut shut by Donald Trump.

Again, this was a statement of fact. Even the all-powerful America suffers casualties when engaged in combat away from home soil. However, Donald Trump, already riled up by the emotions his Vice President had pumped into the atmosphere, took over.

It ended in a heated exchange that resulted in the abrupt termination of the press briefing and the immediate departure of Zelenskyy from the White House to the United Kingdom.

There, European leaders assembled, and Sir Keir Starmer, in his speech, said that the UK, France, and others would work to develop a plan that would end the war.

Ukraine Needs the US More Than the US Needs Ukraine

For any solution that will not result in Russia taking over Ukraine entirely, that plan would, to some extent, require the involvement of the United States. Trump knows this as much as Zelenskyy.

“Your country is in big trouble. You have a good chance of coming out because of us,” Trump shouted at Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.

This same sentiment was echoed by Sir Keir Starmer in his speech when he noted:

“We agreed that the UK, France, and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting. Then we will discuss that plan with the United States.”

Adding that the UK and others must do the heavy lifting in support of Ukraine to guarantee sustained peace, he emphasized that any such efforts “must have the strong backing of the US.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, the country has been able to withstand all of Russia’s advances primarily due to the military support it receives from the US. One report shows that the United States has pumped at least $95 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the last three years. This represents 47 percent of all the funding the country has received from other nations combined. In that period, Germany provided $16.9 billion, while the UK, another European country, donated $15.9 billion. In fact, Japan ($10 billion) and Canada ($8.5 billion) have given more to Ukraine than most other European countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and Norway.

Aside from the much-needed military muscle that America can provide through its sustained generous donations, Donald Trump appears to speak in a language that Putin understands. One might not fully conceptualize the kind of deal Trump would make with Putin, but some of the obvious options include allowing Russia to retain the 18 percent of Ukrainian territories it currently occupies and ensuring that Ukraine never joins NATO.

However, for any possible deal to materialize under this administration, Trump is seeking to economically exploit Ukraine. Ukraine is home to some of the world’s most critical minerals, including rare earth elements—a group of 17 chemically similar elements that, despite their name, are fairly abundant worldwide but are difficult to extract. This makes the country highly valuable for a profitable grab by Trump. The issue remains that a vast portion of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia contains these essential minerals.

To have any hope of reclaiming them, Zelenskyy would have to agree to some form of deal with Trump that allows the US to benefit from these minerals. That was essentially the reason for his visit to the Oval Office, which ended disgracefully.

“It is our policy to continue despite what happened in the past. We are constructive. If we agreed upon signing it, we were ready to sign it. And honestly, I believe that the United States is ready as well,” Zelenskyy told a group of reporters at London Stansted Airport via a translator.

With Ukraine having already suffered over 12,000 civilian fatalities and 3.7 million of its people internally displaced, Zelenskyy’s hands are tied. He needs the US to save what remains of his country, and it is sad that this is the reality.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Neusroom.