Trump Ignores Zelensky and Ukraine: Kyiv Is Confused and Outraged
The US president said he needed to leave the G7 summit to focus on the conflict between Israel and Iran, so a planned meeting between him and the Ukrainian president never took place, writes The Guardian.
Photo: L9871456 | Dreamstime.com
Ukrainian diplomats are angry and frustrated by Donald Trump's refusal to make Ukraine a priority. Volodymyr Zelensky traveled 8 kilometers to attend the G7 summit in Canada in the hope of meeting the US president. But the president decided to return home on the eve of the meeting, saying he needed to focus on the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Another blow to Kyiv was the US veto of the summit's joint statement on Ukraine, since, in the American view, the wording was too anti-Russian and could hinder negotiations with Vladimir Putin.
On the subject: Trump cancels G7 summit due to Middle East tensions
Instead, some of the language about the war will be included in the final chairman's statement prepared by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Some Ukrainian officials are now unsure whether it makes sense for Zelensky to attend the NATO summit in The Hague next week, since there is no guarantee that Trump will show up.
Putin understands this, which is probably why Ukraine was attacked so heavily last night. There were high hopes for this summit, including offers of new American arms. Ukraine was prepared to buy these weapons, including new air defense systems, to avoid Trump’s accusations that Ukraine is just a burden on the U.S. budget.
(Recall that with Trump's tacit approval, Russia continues terrorist attacks on Ukraine. On the night of June 17, Kyiv experienced the most massive attack in three and a half years. It involved 175 drones, more than 14 cruise missiles, and "at least two ballistic missiles." The air raid siren in the capital of Ukraine lasted for about nine hours and ended only at six in the morning. As always, the Russian Defense Ministry cynically announced a "group strike" on Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities. In fact, it was the homes of civilians that were under attack. On the night of June 17, a Russian missile completely destroyed the entrance to a residential building in Kyiv. The bodies of 16 people were pulled out from under the rubble. On the morning of June 17, Odessa experienced a massive attack, two people died. - Note.)
When the US left the G7 summit, Zelenskyy, instead of meeting with Trump, joined other leaders for a special session on Ukraine. But the main purpose of that meeting — to secure Trump’s support to pressure Putin to negotiate a ceasefire — was thwarted by the US president’s sudden departure, which he had announced to the other GXNUMX leaders the day before. Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet Trump in person.
The sense of frustration that Ukraine could not publicly express because of the need to maintain support for Trump was compounded by the fact that during Zelensky's flight to Canada he was receiving reports of large-scale Russian attacks across Ukraine.
Meeting with G7 host Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Zelensky did not directly address Trump’s decision to walk out. He said, looking grim: “We need help from our allies to keep our troops strong until Russia is ready for peace talks.”
He stressed: “We are ready for an unconditional ceasefire.”
Zelensky called the G7 summit one of two unique opportunities for the West to exert collective pressure on Trump, as well as to discuss Ukraine's plans to purchase weapons and air defense systems from the United States worth between $30 and $50 billion.
There have been signals that the US is willing to sell weapons to Ukraine, but Trump, who spoke to Putin again this week, has sometimes argued that arms sales to Ukraine would only prolong a war he wants to end.
Zelensky, among other things, sought US agreement to lower the maximum price for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel in an attempt to reduce Russia's oil revenues. The oil price cap, which requires complex enforcement, was introduced by the G7 countries and requires at least tacit US support to be effective.
Trump on June 16 expressed reluctance to impose additional sanctions, saying that the Europeans should do so first: “The sanctions are costing us a huge amount of money — billions and billions of dollars.”
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on allies to tighten restrictions on the price of Russian oil and announced sanctions against 20 Russian oil tankers, as well as new measures against the companies that operate the vessels.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, the British prime minister said he was "very determined" to tighten price controls on Russian oil to reduce Russia's energy revenues.
On his way to the G7 summit, Zelensky stopped in Austria in an attempt to woo the country as another possible mediator in talks with Russia. Austria has close ties to Russia and is seen by some Ukrainian officials as a more reliable broker than Turkey, which stands to gain considerable commercial benefits from a peace settlement.
Speaking in Brussels, EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas commented on Russia's latest attacks: "Russia continues to mercilessly attack, targeting civilians and prolonging the war. This is another sign: Russia is not interested in peace, so we must keep up the pressure."
The EU is close to agreeing on an 18th sanctions package, which would include a ban on imports of Russian oil refined in third countries and then exported to Europe. Under the EU plan, oil would be considered Russian and therefore banned unless the importer has clear documentation proving it came from another source. Countries would have to submit new “diversification plans” showing how they would wean themselves off Russian oil and gas.
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Kallas is convinced that although sanctions are taking effect more slowly than expected, the overall situation is changing.
Last week, she said: “Russia has already lost tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues. Its economy is shrinking, its GDP is falling.” The introduction of sanctions against the “shadow fleet” (Russian tankers that are not officially registered) has been particularly effective. After the introduction of the 17th sanctions package, Russian oil exports via the Black and Baltic Seas fell by 30% in a week.
"In May alone, Russia's sovereign fund decreased by $6 billion — from $42 to $36 billion, and it could run dry as early as next year. By cutting off revenue, we are preventing it from filling the military treasury again."
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