Askold Lozynskyj
I admire Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky for his fortitude, persistence and mostly for his patience. He is coming once again to meet with President Trump in Florida this time. These are not easy trips, a simple flight from Kyiv to Florida. No, Ukraine’s airspace is not available. Additionally for President Zelensky, at least in my opinion, this is beneath him. Zelensky is a hero while Trump is simply a primitive thug, albeit the president of the United States.
Nothing of substance will be accomplished at the Florida meeting, Besides the optics of a genuine hero beseeching essentially a criminal, Trump really has nothing to offer except to the contrary becoming a total Russian asset. Trump will defer but will provide no genuine assurances, as if American assurances under Trump have any real meaning. The issue involves the present and immediate future. Zelensky comes to Florida to prevent Trump from going completely to the other side. That, unfortunately, is always a possibility. There are no checks and balances in America today.
The 20 point Ukrainian peace plan is as much an accommodation as anyone can expect from Ukraine. Aside from the fact that it is unacceptable to Russia nonetheless because Russia does not seek peace, it is a good faith concession on the part of Ukraine. Trump will not approve it. He has arrogantly stated that the proposal has to be approved by him despite the fact that it was personally negotiated by his personal envoys Witkoff and Kushner. What was the point of negotiating with his personal envoys, who frankly, have no position in the government?
Trump has myriad interests having nothing to do with America. There is the illusion of economic cooperation for mutual personal benefit with Russia’s thug Vladimir Putin. Perhaps Trump fails to see that Putin is as corrupt as he and would be most reluctant to share in any future joint venture. In the matter of a joint venture in Russia, Putin would always hold the cards, handed to him or not.
These peace attempts are exercises in futility. President Zelensky knows this, but he continues because he does not wish to lose American support. This normally would seem like nonsense because America has always stood for democracy and freedom. But not this version of America. President Zelensky is most discerning and he knows that he does not deal with the America of Abraham Lincoln or even Ronald Reagan. This is a different Republican party, certainly not the one who overcame oppression or the one that insisted on breaking down the wall of oppression.
And so President Zelensky and President Trump will meet. Zelensky will be gracious and Trump, I suspect, will be the Orwellian Napoleon the Pig. They will talk and part. The script is the same. As to substance, Trump will make a few statements praising himself and his efforts, perhaps even referring to the Nobel peace prize in the offing next year. Zelensky will respond that it was a substantive meeting. The war will continue with some semblance of intelligence sharing between America and Ukraine and American weapons will be available for purchase to some extent by European NATO members.
How long does this go on? For as long as Trump occupies the now half demolished White House. But Ukraine will go on into the fifth year of the full scale Russian aggression. Ukraine will survive Russia and Trump and ultimately it will persevere. Consider how perverse are Ukrainian-American relations. But maybe they are simply an example of the world we live in. That is a much tougher task. I, personally, console myself with the concept that Trump’s America is not the America we will honor next year on July 4th, but an aberration.
December 27, 2025
