Zaluzhnyi criticized the foreign policy of the new Donald Trump administration and stated that the USA is “destroying” the established world order, and the White House has “questioned the unity of the entire Western world”.
Such statements by Valery Zaluzhny were made at a conference at “Chatham House” in London on Thursday, March 6, against the backdrop of tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his American counterpart Donald Trump after a public argument between them in the Oval Office.
In recent days, Kyiv has made attempts to improve relations with Washington, and Donald Trump, during an address to Congress, praised Zelensky’s readiness to fulfill the US conditions and wrote him a “letter” about it. But the very next day, March 5, the US suspended military aid to Ukraine and intelligence sharing, in an attempt to bring Zelensky to the negotiating table.
Such a move significantly harms Ukraine and could lead to serious consequences for the military on the battlefield and civilians in the rear.
“We see that not only the axis of evil and Russia are trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order,” Zaluzhny said.
The Ukrainian ambassador added that negotiations between the US and Russia, which is “led by a war criminal” in the person of President Vladimir Putin, showed that the White House is taking “steps towards the Kremlin to meet it halfway.”
Valeriy Zaluzhny, who became ambassador to London in 2024 after three years as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also suggested that as a result of Washington’s change in position, NATO could cease to exist.
He also warned that Moscow’s next target “could be Europe.”
Zelensky expressed a desire to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, while also voicing concern about the way the Trump administration was negotiating and making concessions to Moscow without providing security guarantees for Ukraine.
During the U.S. election campaign, Trump promised to end the war quickly, and a U.S. delegation met with the Russians for preliminary talks in Saudi Arabia last month without European or Ukrainian representatives present.
The U.S. decision to cut off aid to Ukraine is seen by Trump administration officials as a way to force Kyiv to cooperate in U.S.-led peace talks.
Zelensky then sought reconciliation with Trump, without mentioning the U.S. security guarantees that he had previously said were necessary to prevent further Russian aggression. Trump said he appreciated Zelensky’s words.
Washington is moving towards the Kremlin
At the same time, Zaluzhny said during his speech that the pause in intelligence sharing, as well as the earlier decision to oppose the UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine, is a “great challenge for the whole world.”
Later, he also published a post on Facebook in which he spoke about his speech at the security conference at Chatham House.
“It was a frank and direct conversation. About the fact that the world order has changed and this must be recognized,” he wrote.
“Washington is taking more and more steps towards the Kremlin regime at a time when Russia and the Axis of Evil are trying to destroy the world order,” Zaluzhny repeated his statements at the conference.
He also added that “Ukraine today de facto defends not only the eastern border of NATO, but also the eastern border of Europe.”
“It continues to resist and therefore has become a subject of international politics. And without the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a new architecture of European security is no longer possible,” Zaluzhny said.
It is worth noting that Valeriy Zaluzhny is currently the most popular politician in Ukraine and has the highest rating and chances of becoming president if he runs.
Top US officials have repeatedly hinted in recent days and weeks that Ukraine needs presidential elections so that the elected, more conciliatory leader would be more willing to make concessions to Russia and the US. However, such statements by Zaluzhny show that he, as president, can hardly be such a compliant leader of Ukraine.
“BBC-Ukraine”
