President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to submit to President Donald J. Trump suggests the Ukrainian leader has “run out of political road,” according to the BBC, which typically cheerleads for him while attempting to undermine the American leader. Following a confrontation with President Trump in the Oval Office—resulting from Zelensky starting a row with Vice President J.D. Vance in front of the press—a pause in U.S. aid for Ukraine was announced. Within hours, Zelensky issued a statement pledging, “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
“Washington’s hostile rhetoric, that Oval Office meeting and the ‘pausing’ of US military aid have forced him to bend to Trump’s peace vision,” the state-backed broadcaster argues. It notes that, while European leaders largely backed Zelensky following his White House showdown, with Britain and France even pledging peacekeeping troops, “made clear peace would still require US involvement.”
Most European NATO members have allowed their militaries to shrivel—with President Trump frequently accusing them of being “delinquent” on their alliance defense spending obligations—preferring to spend their money on migrants, net zero policies, and expansive welfare programs instead.
“[W]ith his European allies acknowledging that they still need the US, Washington seems still to be the only place for him to turn to,” the BBC notes.
Zelensky is already compromising by agreeing to sign a deal with the U.S. on rare earth minerals exploration without security assurances. Until now, The Ukrainian leader had been refusing to countenance a ceasefire and certain deals without so-called security guarantees—effectively a promise from the U.S. to go to war with Russia if a ceasefire is broken.
President Trump has made it clear to Zelensky that he is “in no position to dictate” terms to the U.S.
