After months of signaling and speculation, the Trump administration started on February 12 to roll out its strategy for ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. This included a call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Trump call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a major statement by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
Critics decried Trump’s call with Putin, which, in Trump’s own social media post, had an effusive tone not merited by Russia’s war against Ukraine and Moscow’s pressure and sabotage against the United States and its allies. That the call with Putin preceded the call with Zelenskyy suggests some Trump administration favoritism for Russia. But Trump’s style usually includes a warm tone directed at counterparts, especially authoritarian ones. That can change fast. And the call with Zelenskyy also seemed to be warm, at least in the Ukrainian readout. The two calls signaled the beginning of negotiations, but not their substance. Hopefully, any Trump meeting with Putin, an adversary, will take place only along with a parallel meeting with Zelenskyy, a friend.
Voice of Ukraine 