Trump's peace push: Ukraine ready, Russia silent
In the longest presidential speech delivered before Congress, Donald Trump dedicated just a few minutes to Ukraine. Despite this, Kyiv has been signaling a growing interest in peace negotiations in recent hours. "I doubt Putin wants peace. He sits in the Kremlin, does nothing, and 'wraps candy wrappers,'" says Col. (ret.) Maciej Matysiak.
During the speech, Trump mentioned receiving an important letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which was echoed in the Ukrainian leader's social media post. He claimed that Kyiv expressed its readiness to enter into an agreement on mining Ukrainian minerals.
"As for the agreement on resources and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any moment." Zelensky reportedly stated that Ukraine is ready for peace and that Ukrainians "appreciate how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain sovereignty and independence," said Donald Trump. This is the same American president who decided to halt arms deliveries to Ukraine just a few hours earlier.
"Wouldn't that be beautiful? It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end this senseless war," Trump said about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
During his address to the joint chambers of Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned receiving a strong signal from Russia about its willingness to pursue peace. Zelensky took it a step further by outlining initial moves toward a truce. He suggested a prisoner exchange and a halt to military actions both in the air and at sea. He noted that Ukraine is prepared for this, provided that "Russia takes similar actions." According to the Ukrainian president, only then "can we discuss a real start to the peace process."
According to Col. (ret.) Maciej Matysiak, we are not witnessing a change in the Ukrainian narrative.
"Trump wants to handle everything himself"
"Firstly, there are still no peace negotiations. And they are not on the horizon. Such talks require participation from both sides of the conflict. And in the current situation, Trump wants to handle everything himself and on his own terms," says Col. (ret.) Maciej Matysiak, former deputy head of the Military Counterintelligence Service.
He recalls that negotiation initiatives from various countries, including Ukraine, began with a phone call from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin.
"Since then, the American president has been working to fulfill his election promise to end the war quickly. Have there been new gestures toward negotiations? In my view, no, because Zelensky has already made them. He is prepared, but not under the conditions that Trump wants to impose on him. He continually emphasizes his willingness, whether it’s for signing a resource agreement or developing negotiation topics. However, he wants to keep the U.S. firmly anchored in Ukrainian territory as a shield against Putin's actions. He seeks security guarantees from the White House. And that's exactly what Trump is opposed to," says an expert from the Stratpoints Foundation.
A few hours after the halt of American arms deliveries, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance spoke in a conciliatory tone. In an interview with journalists, he stated that the United States does not rule out resuming the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine if Kyiv starts peace talks.
BBC News Ukrainian reports that Ukrainians were pleasantly surprised by Trump's speech, as "the day before, one could get the impression that after the U.S. president's address to Congress, something negative could be expected."
"The decision to stop arms deliveries stems from Friday's argument at the White House. After an emotional exchange with Zelensky, Trump aimed to apply pressure on him. This decision has disastrous consequences, weakening Ukraine's air defense against long-range Russian attacks, including cruise missiles and planes launching missiles. It impacts the Patriot, NASAMS, and Himars systems," states Col. (ret.) Maciej Matysiak.
The former military man does not share Ukrainian optimism regarding Trump's further moves concerning the war in Ukraine.
"We have a narrative dissonance"
I doubt that Putin wants peace. The Russian delegation, after talks with the American administration in Riyadh, communicates that it agrees to nothing. The Kremlin and Putin do nothing, just sit and 'wrap candy wrappers', ironizes the former deputy head of SKW.
As he adds, in Trump's speech to Congress, which lasted over 1.5 hours, Ukraine took up just 3 minutes.
"Unfortunately, the American president treats Ukraine as if it were the negative side of the conflict. And he does not approach Russia in such a way. So we have a narrative dissonance. This is because Trump de facto has no arguments toward Russia. His negotiation tactics burned out at the beginning. And this, in turn, testifies to the complete amateurism and weakness of part of the American administration and President Trump regarding the end of the war in Ukraine," emphasizes Matysiak.
Mariusz Marszałkowski, an expert from Defence24.pl, a specialist in Eastern security and policy, speaks in a similar tone.
"In the Kremlin, they sit, eat popcorn, and drink champagne"
Russia has proposed nothing so far. And has adopted a tactic of not responding. Putin sits in the Kremlin, watches the situation, and listens to Trump 'boxing with' Zelensky. And 'dresses' the propaganda sauce on it within Russia's narrative around the commotion, says Mariusz Marszałkowski.
According to the expert from Defence24, the Trump administration directly implements Moscow's theses, which were presented in Russian state media.
"This includes the refusal to allow Ukraine into NATO, the issue of withdrawing American troops from Europe, or the discussion on lifting sanctions on Russia. Unfortunately, today we have a team in Washington that fully understands Putin's demands. Meanwhile, Moscow has high hopes for Trump's presidency. And it practically doesn't have to do anything. In the Kremlin, they sit, eat popcorn, and drink champagne, comments Marszałkowski.
