Former Ukrainian President Visits US President

The "former" president of Ukraine paid a visit to the president of the United States. The guest did not disappoint, delivering a rather spectacular performance for the world.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by User:Cezary Piwowarczyk, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

White House Washington

The initial purpose of the meeting was to sign an agreement on Ukraine's mineral resources. US President Donald Trump's motivations were somewhat unclear over the past few days. He had unexpectedly agreed to many of Volodymyr Zelensky's conditions and even consented to downgrading the agreement to a memorandum. He also agreed (at first reluctantly, but reportedly at the insistence of French President Emmanuel Macron) to a personal meeting with the head of Ukraine.

At first glance, it seemed like a politically unwise move for the US president. But now everything has fallen into place – he never intended to sign any agreements in the first place.

It appears that the entire situation was pre-planned – a staged provocation, carefully scripted and executed.

In the role of provocateur was US Vice President J. D. Vance, who deliberately incited the Ukrainian guest. Zelensky did not disappoint and responded with a conversation style akin to look-who-is-talking attitude. Trump then played the role of the enraged leader.

As a result, the incident appears shameful and scandalous primarily on Zelensky's part. Washington needed this controversy to engage with him from a completely different position going forward.

While Zelensky, encouraged by London and Paris, thought he was trapping Trump, the American leader trapped Zelensky instead.

A Bit of Conspiracy Theory

Let's assume that the presidents of Russia and the US reached an agreement for Washington to abandon Zelensky. This would allow the US to withdraw from the Ukrainian conflict. However, they couldn't simply say, "We're out of here" – it needed to be done in a more carefully orchestrated manner.

To achieve this, the "expired" leader was invited to meet with Trump, where he was symbolically reprimanded using diplomatic tools just before signing the mineral resources agreement.

Zelensky loses his temper and leaves. Almost immediately after, the US begins its withdrawal from the conflict shutting down Starlink services, halting military aid deliveries, and freezing financial support for Ukraine's budget. This leaves Kyiv abandoned, forcing Europe and Britain to take full responsibility for Ukraine.

Judging by the Zelensky-Trump altercation, Ukraine's leadership will now have to rely solely on the EU and London for both military and financial support.

US Military Aid to Ukraine

For reference, here is what Ukraine had received from the White House:

• FIM-92 Stinger portable air defense systems,
• Patriot surface-to-air missile systems with ammunition,
• F-16 fighter jets,
• FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile systems,
• TOW anti-tank missile systems,
• M777 155 mm howitzers and shells,
• HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems,
• ATACMS tactical missile systems,
• M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles,
• Stryker armored personnel carriers,
• HMMWV armored vehicles,
• MaxxPro armored vehicles,
• M1117 armored security vehicles,
• M113 armored personnel carriers,
• M1 Abrams tanks,
• Switchblade drones,
• RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles,
• Avenger air defense systems,
• AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radars.

And that's not counting ammunition, intelligence data from radar and satellite sources, and much more.

Conclusion

The political spectacle of the year was appreciated by all, and Trump's agent now regrets not selling tickets to the show. Most likely, this was Zelensky's last meeting with Trump.

Trump had already told Macron that the meeting was pointless. Macron has bought himself a little more time, but nothing more.