{"id":57683,"date":"2024-11-07T06:55:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T05:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=57683"},"modified":"2024-11-09T07:03:04","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T06:03:04","slug":"the-rapprochement-between-zelensky-and-trump-and-the-anger-of-many-ukrainians-with-joe-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/11\/07\/the-rapprochement-between-zelensky-and-trump-and-the-anger-of-many-ukrainians-with-joe-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"The rapprochement between Zelensky and Trump and the anger of many Ukrainians with Joe Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/11\/06\/what-trump-victory-can-entail-and-what-avoids-kamala-harris-defeat\/\">I discussed here some possible effects of Donald Trump's victory<\/a> in the United States presidential elections.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/09\/04\/russia-attacks-ukraine-with-north-korean-missiles-but-biden-vetoes-a-counterattack-by-ukraine\/\">Russia attacks Ukraine with North Korean missiles but Biden vetoes a counterattack by Ukraine<\/a><\/rel><br \/>\n<rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/08\/26\/bidens-veto-allows-putin-to-launch-massive-attack-on-ukrainian-cities\/\">Biden's veto allows Putin to launch massive attack on Ukrainian cities<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n<p>One of the points I made was <strong>Trump's position on Ukraine<\/strong>, specifically his messages claiming that he can quickly achieve peace in that country, but without explaining how, which has increased <strong>fears of a concession by the 47th US president to Russia<\/strong>. At the end of my article I said that we would see what happens next and whether the things that were said during the election campaign are maintained from now on. <strong>It seems that there are already some changes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><big>Zelensky's lengthy congratulations to Trump on his victory<\/big><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday at 09:08 CET, Ukrainian President <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1854073411904938032\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted his congratulations to Trump<\/a>. <strong>He was one of the first foreign leaders<\/strong> to send such a message to the Republican candidate shortly after the election results were announced. <strong>In his lengthy, six-paragraph message, Zelensky said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September<\/strong>, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine. <\/p>\n<p><strong>I appreciate President Trump\u2019s commitment to the \u201cpeace through strength\u201d approach in global affairs.<\/strong> This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. <strong>I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump\u2019s decisive leadership.<\/strong> We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><big>Zelensky evokes Reagan, a great reference for US conservatives<\/big><\/p>\n<p><strong>The message included warm words from the Ukrainian president to Trump.<\/strong> It was a clear sign of Zelensky's willingness to come to an understanding with the new US president, whose support is very important for Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1854247853490622563\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In the afternoon, Zelensky again praised Trump and evoked the figure of Ronald Reagan,<\/a> a great reference for US conservatives and a person who <strong>played a key role in the fall of communism in Europe:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>For us in Ukraine, and all across Europe, <strong>it has always been crucial to hear the words of the then 45th President of the United States about \u201cpeace through strength.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When this principle becomes the policy of the 47th President, <strong>both America and the entire world will undoubtedly benefit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s no coincidence that Ronald Reagan is mentioned so often these days\u2014people want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life.<\/strong> For us, that means a life free from Russian aggression, with <strong>a strong America, a strong Ukraine, and strong allies.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><big>Zelensky has already had \"an excellent call\" with Trump<\/big><\/p>\n<p>At 11:27 p.m. CET, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1854289413246705695\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zelensky posted a new Twitter message<\/a> <strong>commenting that he had already spoken with Trump<\/strong>, and with a positive result, judging by his words:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>I had an excellent call with President Donald Trump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory<\/strong> \u2014 his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.<\/strong> Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><big>The reasons why many Ukrainians are angry with Joe Biden<\/big><\/p>\n<p>Some will accuse Zelensky of opportunism. After all, <strong>he is the president of a nation under attack and in need of US support<\/strong>, and that means making certain gestures that would not otherwise be made. However, it should be remembered that <strong>the current president, Joe Biden, has ended up disappointing and angering many Ukrainians<\/strong>, which makes this rapprochement between Zelensky and Trump easier.<\/p>\n<p>The main reason for this anger is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/08\/26\/bidens-veto-allows-putin-to-launch-massive-attack-on-ukrainian-cities\/\">Biden's veto of Ukraine's use of long-range American missiles against Russian territory<\/a>, despite repeated Ukrainian requests to do so, not to attack civilian targets, but <strong>to destroy Russian missile launch sites targeting Ukrainian cities<\/strong>. In recent months, I have already criticized Biden's decision here, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/09\/04\/russia-attacks-ukraine-with-north-korean-missiles-but-biden-vetoes-a-counterattack-by-ukraine\/\">a veto that has been maintained even when Russia has attacked civilian targets in Ukraine with North Korean missiles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On October 30, following a new Russian attack on a residential building in Kharkiv, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1851742621955182743\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zelensky sharply criticized the veto and the delays in sending military aid<\/a>: <em>\"Partners see what happens every day. In these circumstances,<strong> every delayed decision on their part means dozens or even hundreds more Russian bombs used against Ukraine. Their decisions are the lives of our people.<\/strong> That is why we must stop Russia together \u2014 and do so with all possible force.\"<\/em><\/p>\n<p><big>Zelensky's complaint about the delay of 90% of US military aid<\/big><\/p>\n<p>That same day, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/ukraine-has-received-only-10-latest-approved-aid-us-zelenskiy-says-2024-10-30\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zelenskiy claimed that Ukraine has received only 10% of the US military aid approved by Congress earlier this year<\/a>. <strong>The claim fell like a bucket of cold water on the White House<\/strong>, unable to refute this claim because, as Stefan Korshak reported from the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post the next day, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kyivpost.com\/post\/41431\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Pentagon figures corroborate this claim<\/a>. Korshak gave examples:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>Long lag times between a Pentagon declaration that a weapons system is en route to Ukraine<\/strong> and its actual appearance on the battlefield are a matter of record. <strong>The powerful M1 Abrams tank<\/strong>, the planned transfer of which <strong>was first formally announced in January 2023<\/strong>, was only reported in country by official sources in September, and <strong>actually seen on a battlefield for the first time in November.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hours earlier, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m4TMXy7WF_8\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Channel 5 of Ukrainian Television was denouncing that the US was delaying the delivery of weapons to Ukraine<\/a>, a delay that came precisely at the time when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/10\/19\/four-awkward-questions-about-north-korean-troops-in-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine\/\">thousands of North Korean soldiers were being deployed as reinforcements for the Russian invasion<\/a>. Everything seems to indicate that <strong>an increasingly weakened and senile Biden was allowing himself to be overwhelmed by Russian threats<\/strong> in order to prevent an increase in Western military support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p><big>Many Ukrainians see Trump as \u201ca hope for any real action\u201d<\/big><\/p>\n<p>Last night, <strong>Sergej Sumlenny, a Russian analyst based in Germany<\/strong> and founder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/european-resilience.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">European Resilience Initiative Center<\/a>, an organization supporting the Ukrainian cause, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sumlenny\/status\/1854223757570630070\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">posted a Twitter thread<\/a> commenting as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>A large number of genuine Ukrainian accounts I follow on different social media<\/strong> (and in many cases I personally know people behind them) <strong>are looking positively towards Trump's presidency<\/strong>, and see him as a hope for any true action. <strong>This shows how much Biden has pissed off Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I stress: I don't say if Trump is good or bad. I say: <strong>many Ukrainians who risk their life daily, many at the front, are glad that Biden's team leaves the stage<\/strong>. They are well aware of Trump's ambiguity, and of what he & his team said about Ukraine or Putin. <strong>Still they are relieved.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><big>Kasparov's message on Trump and Biden<\/big><\/p>\n<p>Sumlenny believes that <strong><em>\"the best promoter of Trump's presidency\"<\/em> in Ukraine was <em>\"Joe Biden himself\"<\/em><\/strong>. Commenting on Sumlenny's Twitter thread, <strong>famous chess player Garry Kasparov<\/strong> - born in Russia, naturalized Croatian and a staunch opponent of Putin - <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Kasparov63\/status\/1854224980717797518\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">commented last night<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>I\u2019m not optimistic due to Trump's eternal loyalty to Putin. But <strong>Trump stabbing Ukraine in the chest may be in some ways preferable to Biden stabbing them in the back.<\/strong> Biden had every chance for a heroic legacy, defeating Trump then Putin. Now he\u2019ll go down as a loser to both.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As I said yesterday, we will see what happens in relation to this issue. For my part, I am very clear about what my position is and will be: <strong>I defend and will continue to defend the cause of Ukraine against the Russian invasion and I will continue to denounce Putin's tyranny<\/strong>, as I have been doing for years, no matter who is against it. This is not a question of being conservative or progressive. <strong>It is a question of decency.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>---<\/p>\n<p><small>Photo: Associated Press. Zelensky and Trump during their meeting on September 27, 2024 in the United States.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday I discussed here some possible effects of Donald Trump&#8217;s victory in the United States presidential elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10373],"tags":[9189,17564,2658,10731,16153,23015,15307,10431,16074],"class_list":["post-57683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","tag-donald-trump","tag-garry-kasparov","tag-joe-biden","tag-russia","tag-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-of-2022","tag-sergej-sumlenny","tag-ukraine","tag-united-states","tag-volodimir-zelenski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57683"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57683\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}