Ukrainian authorities are showing newfound confidence - and it's all thanks to US President Donald Trump, writes "Politico".
Despite massive Russian airstrikes targeting the country's energy system, the belief that the end may finally be on the horizon is slowly spreading in Kiev. The hope in the capital is that by spring or summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be serious about negotiations, starting talks to end the war sometime next year.
At a recent closed-door parliamentary session with deputies from his "Servant of the People" party, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that Russia's current incursion into the east of the country could be its last major ground offensive in the conflict. Of course, the country will have to endure another harsh winter, but Zelensky expressed his expectation that there is a real possibility of a ceasefire - although it will not be easy, as he specified.
For this to happen, Russia must be subjected to greater economic and military pressure so that Putin understands that the only logical way out is negotiations and that prolonging the conflict will not bring any other advantages for him, but will only bleed Russia dry. Fortunately, having just successfully brokered a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump seems determined to end the war in Ukraine and add another achievement to boast about to the Nobel Peace Prize committee.
A high-ranking Ukrainian delegation, including Zelensky’s powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, are discussing with their American counterparts in Washington this week: How to use Putin to stop the war and how to help Ukraine withstand Russian airstrikes this winter.
And with Zelensky at the White House tomorrow for another face-to-face meeting with Trump, this time they think the situation could turn in their favor.
In his hour-long address to the Knesset on Monday, the US president made it clear that he intends to focus his efforts on ending the war between Ukraine and Russia: "It would be great if we could "to make a peace deal with Iran. First, we have to finish with Russia," he told Israeli lawmakers. For the man who once blamed Zelensky for the conflict, it now seems like Putin's war. Last month, Trump effectively called Russia an "aggressor."
It's this kind of talk that is igniting Kiev, and Zelensky didn't hesitate to respond: "We are working to bring about the day of peace for Ukraine as well. "Russian aggression remains the world's last remaining source of destabilization, and if a ceasefire and peace can be achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and resolve of global actors can certainly work for us," he wrote on social media.
Ukraine's cautious confidence preceded Trump's speech to the Knesset.
Slowly but surely, Trump and Zelensky have come together - more than anyone could have predicted in February after their heated Oval Office spat that was seen as a setback. "You're not in a good position. You don't hold the cards right now," Trump told Zelensky at the time.
Things didn't look good in August, when the American leader greeted Putin on the tarmac of a Cold War-era air base near Anchorage, Alaska, for a summit that has Ukrainian and European leaders on edge. They, along with the rest of the world, watched as Trump applauded the Russian ruler, engaged in a lively but apparently friendly conversation with him on the red carpet, and invited a smiling Putin into his official presidential car to drive them to the summit site.
Of course, Putin had plenty to smile about: He managed to secure the summit despite being wanted for war crimes, and he was welcomed on American soil as a friend—not the leader of a pariah state invading a sovereign European country—all without first agreeing to any major concessions or ceasefires. He also left Anchorage without committing to a ceasefire, even though Trump said during their joint press conference that his Russian counterpart was determined to save thousands of lives.
But Putin has shown no concern for human life since then, and the ongoing strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine have contributed significantly to where Trump is now, a Republican familiar with foreign policy said. "Trump needed time to figure out who Putin really is".
In addition, media coverage calling the Alaska summit a "Putin triumph" has enraged Trump, the source added. The Russian president, who seems convinced he should just wait out the West, overestimated himself by not giving Trump anything in Anchorage - or after.
Meanwhile, European leaders Trump likes have continued their efforts to repair the damage caused by the Oval Office clash. The Republican source names British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte as key players here, as well as Starmer's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. He noted that the winning card in the lobbying effort was the fact that Britain's King Charles "told Trump that Ukraine was great, and that really changed Trump's view of Ukraine."
However, the source also gave Zelensky credit for his hard work in dealing with Trump and for being careful with his language. "You have to understand that from the beginning of the war, Zelensky and Yermak were used to being treated like rock stars, world celebrities, and then Trump comes in and says, 'There's only room for one diva here - me.' That's why there was the Oval Office clash," he explained.
The increasingly friendly meetings with Trump, the most cordial of which took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month, are evidence of this. The US president then praised the Ukrainian leader as a "brave man".
"We have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is fighting", he said. "It's actually quite incredible".
After that meeting, Trump surprised even Zelensky himself with a giddy comment that Ukraine might be able to regain all the territory it lost to Russia. This surprised some of Trump's aides as well - after all, just a month earlier the US had made it clear that Ukraine would have to give up land in exchange for peace.
There are other factors shaping Trump's shift, and according to another Republican foreign policy adviser, they include hosting Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in China last month. "Please convey my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un as they plot against the United States of America", Trump wrote sarcastically on his Truth Social platform.
"The best way to get revenge on Putin is to praise Zelensky - that's how Trump sees it", the adviser explained. And even more, to increase US support for Ukraine.
To that end, Washington has recently increased its intelligence sharing with Ukrainian forces to facilitate long-range attacks on energy targets deep inside Russia, thereby bringing the consequences of the war to ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, talks of supplying "Tomahawk" cruise missiles to Ukraine are intended to scare the Kremlin - although the risk of escalation will likely deter Trump from going that far.
Overall, the cards have certainly begun to turn in Zelensky's favor. Ukrainian officials and their supporters in the United States hope they will continue to do so - even though they acknowledge that with Trump, nothing can be taken for granted. How will he react if Putin persists, as reports indicate he will?
Yet, for all his unpredictability, they are happier with this Trump than they were with the one in February.