The coming spring in Kyiv is set to be colder and darker than usual – but apparently it’s not the weather that’s casting a shadow. The late winter chill and overcast skies, familiar to Ukrainians, have recently come to symbolize much darker days ahead for the Eastern European nation.
As the war with Russia nears its third anniversary this Monday, the resilience of the Ukrainian people is being tested more than ever. The outlook seems bleaker still, following a dramatic climax in U.S. President Donald Trump’s position. Just this past week, the Republican labeled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and politically rehabilitated Russia at the expense of Kyiv and Washington’s European allies.
On Wednesday, U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in the Ukrainian capital with the task of relaying messages both ways between Kyiv and the White House. His packed schedule included meetings with key figures such as the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, presidential office head Andriy Yermak, and top intelligence and security officials.
Thursday brought a meeting with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who emphasized the need for a “global, just, and lasting peace.” He also reiterated Ukraine’s position that “the security of Ukraine and the transatlantic area is indivisible.”
Later in the afternoon, Kellogg met privately with Zelensky. Although a press conference had been planned, it was canceled after U.S. officials reportedly pressured their Ukrainian counterparts to call it off, allowing only brief footage to be filmed, according to Zelensky’s spokesperson, Serhiy Nykyforov.
“We had a detailed conversation about the battlefield situation, how to return our prisoners of war, and effective security guarantees”, Zelensky commented on X after Thursday’s meeting. “Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States”, he added. Mr. Zelensky also praised the U.S. “for all the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people”.
Kyiv’s priority remains a just and durable peace as the country’s leadership stresses the need for an agreement that extends beyond border defense, with Kyiv playing a leading role alongside European countries. Trump, however, has appeared to exclude European nations from talks, while assigning them the burdensome task of defending Ukraine in the post-war period.
Throughout his discussions, Kellogg listened carefully, taking notes and following the thread of each conversation. Yet, the sense remains that Trump often ignores both his allies and some of his own advisors, opting instead for the transactional style that has defined his career since his early days in New York real estate. Kellogg himself was notably excluded from peace talks held in Riyadh on February 18, where Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from a mission to Moscow, took the lead. Also in attendance were Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.
Some sources have speculated that Trump privately criticized Kellogg’s perceived pro-Ukraine stance, suggesting that it rendered him unsuitable as a negotiator with Moscow. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has praised Trump for echoing much of Russia’s narrative regarding the “special operation” launched against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. According to this version, Zelensky provoked the invasion, knowing full well that Ukraine stood no chance of winning. Trump has also called Zelensky an “dictator (…) without elections” – a reference to his decision to postpone Ukraine’s 2024 presidential elections under martial law.
Trump also claimed that Zelensky’s approval rating currently stands at 4%. However, according to a survey by the International Sociology Institute in Kyiv, the actual approval rating is closer to 57%, far surpassing Trump’s 44% approval among Americans, according to Ipsos/Reuters data.
On Wednesday morning, Zelensky responded succinctly, stating that while he respects Trump] as “the leader of the American people,” he believes the former president lives in a “space of (Russian) disinformation.”
In a rare turn of events, even the editorial board of the New York Post, one of the most vocal supporters of the MAGA movement, joined the chorus of criticism. In an editorial, the paper condemned Trump’s plan to abandon Kyiv, accusing him of asking Ukraine to grant the U.S. access to nearly $500 billion worth of rare earths, oil, and strategic minerals in exchange for over $100 billion in military aid under Biden’s administration.
The Post described Trump’s plan as “harsher than what the victorious allies imposed on Germany in the Peace of Versailles after World War I”. “(H)elping Ukraine defend itself from Vladimir Putin’s illegal, barbaric invasion was the right thing to do”, the outlet wrote, and “there is the possibility for a deal that leaves Ukraine’s dignity intact and benefits both parties—perhaps something like that $500-billion accord on rare earth minerals floated the other week—but this isn’t it.”
This sentiment was echoed by Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, a prominent figure in the Trump media orbit. Hume labeled Trump’s rhetoric “music to Vladimir Putin’s ears” on X, as a long list of high-profile Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence, voiced their strong opposition to the president’s pro-Russia turn.
The shift in U.S. policy was also evident at the G-7, where Thursday’s joint statement marking the third anniversary of the war included disagreement over the reference to Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine. According to the Financial Times, citing five Western diplomats, U.S. representatives opposed the wording, considering it too hostile to the Kremlin at a time when Washington seems focused on rapprochement with Putin. The Trump administration, sources suggest, prefers to call the situation a “conflict in Ukraine”—a term used twice by Rubio in his recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia.
At the U.N., the U.S. also refused to co-sponsor a draft resolution supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity, which is set to be voted on by the General Assembly on Monday. The move marks a sharp break from the Biden administration’s previous stance, which had consistently supported such measures.
