Under the Trump presidency, the United States ‘ unwavering allegiance to Ukraine appears to be rapidly deteriorating after three years of fighting Russia.
On February 19, 2025, President Donald Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as” a despot” and made up his own accusation of the war that Russia started as a border region land get.
Zelensky, however, said on February 19 that Trump is trapped in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “disinformation place”.
The US and Russia are holding discussions in Saudi Arabia without including Ukraine in order to end the conflict, which is getting worse.
The US and Russia have long been enemies, and the US, to day, has given Ukraine more than US$ 183 billion to help battle against Russia. However, that cash came when Joe Biden was in office. Trump doesn’t seem to have an anti-Ukraine bias.
Tatsiana Kulakevich, a professor of Eastern German politics and international relations, spoke with The Conversation to discuss the repercussions of this sudden change in Trump’s approach to US-Russia plan.
In initial conversations, Kulakevich sees Trump’s actions as being part of a calculated plan rather than as being self-interested.
Does you describe the current relationship between Russia, Ukraine, and the US?
Because the US and Russia are merely having experimental discussions, people shouldn’t get anxious. We may not call them peace deals, per se, at least not yet.
Because there isn’t much to discuss in Saudi Arabia, it was expected that Ukraine wouldn’t be invited to the deals. Other than agreeing to resume normal operation of each other’s diplomatic missions, we are unsure of what the US and Russia are really discussing.
People believe that Russia and the US are in like. But, Trump’s Russia plan has been more aggressive than generally portrayed in the media. Looking back at the previous Trump administration’s report, we can see that if everything is done in the US’s pursuits, then it will not be done. Trump does not do benefits.
He approved the sale of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine in 2019. That same year, Trump withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, an arrangement with Russia that limited what arms each state was order, over Russian transgressions.
Trump also imposed financial sanctions on a Russian ship that was involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in 2019. These sanctions attempted to stop Russia’s immediate fuel exports to Germany, but Ukraine perceived this link as a threat to the country.
Based on Trump’s talks with Russia and notes against Ukraine, it could seem like the US and Russia are no longer enemies. How do you think this is?
There are no conclusive evidence that Russia and the US no longer had a relationship with one another. Despite Trump’s infrequent usage of terms like “friends” in politics, his language usually serves as a tactical movement rather than a real shift in partnerships. His interaction with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, where Trump alternated between politeness and threats to extort money, is a prime example.
Even if the US is meeting with Russia and the public tale seems to suggest then, carefully, abandoning Ukraine is not in the United States ‘ best interests. One reason for this is that the US’s rejection of Ukraine did bring both China and Russia joy. Trump has viewed China as a major risk to the US, and it has supported Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is even quoted as saying that everyone will be present for a potential peace agreement, including Ukraine.
Before this national election, there was a long-running campaign claiming that Russia was holding some data over Trump and blackmailing him, but that this was before Trump started imposing measures against Russia during his first name.
More than 50 policy steps were taken by the first Trump administration to combat Moscow, mainly through public statements and restrictions.
What benefits does Russia’s political relationship offer the US?
Trump is a contextual politician. As some Russian officials have said in recent Saudi Arabian deals with the Trump administration, British businesses may benefit from US alignment with Russia and Soviet businesses.
But the US may also benefit financially from the Trump government’s proposed bargain with Ukraine to give the US quarter of Ukraine’s estimated US$ 11.5 trillion in unusual earth minerals.
This year, Zelensky rejected that suggestion, claiming that it does not include the assurance that the US will continue to provide Ukraine with security guarantees.
Generally, since the Cold War, there has been a political square between the Soviet Union – after Russia – China and the US. And there have always been rival edges on both sides. Trump may be trying to distance himself from China by trying to establish a better political relationship with Russia.
A similar dynamic is playing out between the US and Belarus ‘ autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, a co-aggressor in the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine has close ties to both China and Russia.
In exchange for the transfer of imprisoned people of Belarus ‘ political opposition, the US administration is considering a relaxation of sanctions against Belarusian businesses and export of potash, a crucial component of fertilizer.
There are over 1, 200 political detainees in Belarus. This US international policy approach aims to give Lukashenko the opportunity to grow less financially dependent on China and Russia.
Is this level of collaboration between the US and Russia exceptional?
While US-Russia ties are often defined by conflict, history shows that pragmatic cooperation has occurred when both countries saw mutual benefits – whether this relates to arms power, area, terrorism, Arctic affairs or wellbeing.
In addition, the US has always given its own objectives precedence over those of Russia. For instance, the US and its allies imposed restrictions on Russia’s plutonium and copper companies just in May 2024, over two decades after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. If America sanctioned plutonium and nickel, it would have had to balance its proper economic ties and concerns about market stability.
The US and other European nations imposed mainly symbolic sanctions after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, which Russia claims to have its own and supported Russian hardliners in Ukraine’s Donbas region. This included chilling goods of Russian people, restricting some financial dealings and limiting Russia’s exposure to Western technology.
We may also take note that Trump promised to sanction Russia if the Ukraine war does not end in January 2025. Despite the opinions of a near relation between Trump and Putin, the US continues to evade any existing sanctions, which shows its commitment to a hard stance on Russia.
Trump’s harsh speech on Zelensky may be a deliberate negotiation strategy intended to pressure Ukraine into making more concessions in future peace talks more than signaling abandonment, given his transactional nature in terms of foreign policy.
Tatsiana Kulakevich serves as associate professor of education at the University of South Florida’s School of Interdisciplinarity.
This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.