Melbourne, AUSTRALIA – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House last week seeking help for his war-torn country, only to be treated with contempt by U.S. President Donald Trump, who seemed to think the whole thing was a game.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with the president and Vice President JD Vance – supposedly to negotiate aid for Ukraine’s efforts against a Russian aggressor – ended in a heated altercation without the signing of any deal.
Trump, who wanted Zelenskyy to surrender half of Ukraine’s valuable mineral assets in order to get aid, doesn’t understand how to help an ally.
The vice president isn’t any better.
Vance’s claim of the U.S. being a “good country” through its supposedly wonderful ability to engage in diplomacy prompted Zelenskyy to remind him of its inaction in 2014 when Russia annexed the Ukraine peninsula Crimea in 2014.
The meeting rapidly descended into chaos with both leaders constantly talking over each other as Trump continuously emphasized to Zelenskyy that he does not “have the cards” and “is not in a position to dictate” decisions.
And despite openly calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” a week ago – attempting to undermine the leader’s democratic legitimacy – Trump’s audacious painting of himself as a virtuous hero, attempting to “save” Ukraine, can only be seen as comical.
As if it isn’t the morally right decision to aid a country that has been bullied into war.
His fake adamance of being “aligned with the world” preceded his cautioning of Zelenskyy “gambling with World War III.”
The disgraceful diminishing of Ukraine as an asset as the president remarked that it was “going to be very hard to do business like this” should only be described as shameful.
Yet this deal with Ukraine, first and foremost, is a clear show of Trump’s views of the country – a piggy bank waiting to be smashed open.
His disturbing demand for 50% of Ukraine’s mineral resources only reinforces the assumption that that he is a blatant exploiter. His view of Ukraine as a pawn in his game and as a tool in his business undermines the lives of millions who live in fear and a country that has fought valiantly to maintain their independence.
Despite being inaugurated a month ago, Trump’s concerningly unprecedented decisions and vast changes in policy are becoming increasingly alarming.
The turning away of the U.S. from Ukraine leaves, not only Americans, but ultimately the rest of the world, apprehensive about history’s next chapter.
Katherine Phan is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
