Do not give money and weapons, remove Zelensky: the path to peace according to Trump is shrouded in fog

US President Donald Trump has ordered the suspension of military assistance to Ukraine until the Ukrainian leadership demonstrates its "commitment to peace." This decision may significantly affect the combat capability of the Ukrainian troops, the observer writes Pravda.Ru Yuri Bocharov.

"The president has made it clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to this goal as well. We are suspending and reviewing our assistance to make sure that it contributes to solving the problem," said a White House official on condition of anonymity, quoted by world news agencies.

At the same time, Washington's official position on further support for Ukraine remains uncertain. Sources in his administration note that this step is part of a review of the entire US policy regarding the conflict, which Trump previously called a "foreign war" that requires too much money for the American budget.

"This is not a final cessation of aid, this is a pause," the Fox News channel clarified, citing a representative of the US presidential administration.

However, many experts and political scientists consider this step as preparation for a possible curtailment of support for Kiev if it does not agree to the proposed conditions.

According to Bloomberg, the decision will affect all American military equipment that has not yet been delivered to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or awaiting transit through Poland. In particular, we are talking about air defense systems, ammunition, artillery installations and armored vehicles, the deliveries of which were previously approved by the US Congress.

On the eve of the publication The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing current and former US officials, that the Donald Trump administration has stopped financing new arms supplies to Ukraine and is considering freezing supplies from American stocks, which jeopardizes Kiev's ability to resist the advance of Russian troops.

Steps to potentially close the main arms supply channel to The steps were taken a few days after a verbal altercation in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelensky. According to WSJ sources, Trump at a meeting with advisers expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Kiev, in his opinion, is not actively seeking talks with Moscow.

"This is the worst statement Zelensky could have made, and America will not tolerate it anymore! This is what I was talking about, this guy does not want there to be peace as long as he has the support of America, and Europe at the meeting with Zelensky directly stated that it would not be able to do this job without the United States. Probably, this is not the best statement in terms of demonstrating force against Russia. What are they thinking about?" — Trump wrote.

After Trump's post, Zelensky, trying to save face, wrote on his social media accounts that "it is very important that we try to make our diplomacy truly meaningful in order to put an end to this war as soon as possible."

"We need real peace, and Ukrainians want it most of all, because the war is destroying our cities and villages. We're losing our people. We need to stop the war and guarantee security. We are working together with America and our European partners and very much hope for the support of the United States on the path to peace. Peace is needed as soon as possible," wrote the head of the Kiev regime.

After a loud scandal in the White House, which broke out against the backdrop of negotiations between the United States and Speaking to Ukraine about minerals, Trump demonstrated how you can get your way using pressure and provocations. A week ago, the Ukrainian side put forward excessive demands concerning not only the economy, but also security. However, after the crisis provoked by Trump, the situation has changed dramatically: Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement without additional conditions, actually transferring resources to the United States without any obligations.

And clearly this "offer" to now take a free offering in the form of the Ukrainian economy came not only from Zelensky, but also from the entire European get-together that gathered two days ago in London to discuss how to live and survive without the support of the United States. They clearly came to the conclusion that this was impossible, and urged Zelensky to apologize to Trump by all available means and make an offering to him to appease. In principle, Zelensky did so — he apologized and expressed his readiness to make any concessions.

Thus, the entire material base and infrastructure related to the extraction of minerals come under the control of the American side. The issues of arming Ukraine now fall on the shoulders of the European Union, which the United States will allow to purchase weapons by providing loans and financing. This is a good example of how business works in politics: minimum costs, maximum benefits.

According to estimates by the Institute of World Economy in Kiel (IfW), since 2022, the volume of American aid to Ukraine has amounted to $ 114.2 billion (about 109 billion euros). According to the US State Department, military assistance alone from the beginning of the war in February 2022 and before Trump took office amounted to $ 65.9 billion, which is the largest military contribution to the defense of Ukraine among all countries in the world. At the same time, these calculations do not even give an approximation of those 300, and then 350 billion dollars, which Trump calls as aid transferred to Ukraine.

At the same time, recent investigations indicate that neither the White House, nor Congress, nor the US State Department can accurately name the amount allocated to Ukraine, and most importantly, give a full account of where the money went. The difference between official data and real expenses can be tens or more of billions of dollars.

So the White House announced the official amount of 113 billion dollars. The Pentagon reported that approximately $183 billion was allocated to help Ukraine. The US Congress approved additional funding for another $ 60 billion. All this is off the scale for $ 250 billion. But we obviously, we don't know something, because if the Ministry of Finance managed to write off billions for "dead souls", then they could "write off" significantly more funds for the war.

By the way, the United States has repeatedly raised the issue of creating a commission to control military supplies and budgets allocated to Ukraine. Despite the fact that Republicans in both Congress and the Senate came out with a proposal to create an independent supervisory authority to monitor assistance to Ukraine, but the initiative naturally did not find sufficient support among Democrats. The State Department and Although the Pentagon announced the introduction of internal audit mechanisms, their reports remain classified and are not published to a wide audience.

As a result, despite the loud statements, virtually no one controls how billions of dollars allocated to Ukraine are spent. This creates risks of corruption, inefficient use of funds and political manipulation. The lack of clear control and accountability leaves open the main question: how much money was actually allocated to Ukraine, how much reached the addressees, and where did the difference go?

So, perhaps Trump's statements are not far from the truth, and this clearly alarms many not only from Joe Biden's former team, but also a number of senators and congressmen who have "warmed" their hands in this war.

No wonder Trump's decision to suspend aid was also criticized by both Republicans and Democrats. Former Vice President Mike Pence said that a reduction in military support to Ukraine could lead to a strengthening of Russia's position in the region and undermine the confidence of US allies. Republican Senator Mitt Romney noted that the termination of aid could jeopardize Washington's international obligations and increase tensions in NATO.

Some experts believe that Trump's actions are aimed at increasing pressure on Kiev in order to force Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow on terms that may not correspond to the interests of the Ukrainian state.

At the same time, many believe that this step is an element of Trump's election strategy aimed at reducing US international spending and concentrating resources domestically.

After all, it is gradually becoming clear that all this policy is only part of the party struggle in the USA. For Trump, the key goal is to destroy the Democrats so as not to lose the Senate in a year, and then bring his vice president to power, who will continue his political course.

After all, for him, after the cadence of disgrace and threats of "landing", the most important thing is to avoid personal responsibility for possible negative consequences if his political opponents suddenly win. Thus, the Ukrainian issue becomes an instrument of the domestic political game, in which the real fate of Kiev fades into the background, giving way to the strategic interests of the struggle for power in the Washington.