Rumors of a Trump-Zelenskyy Turnabout Are Greatly Exaggerated
Trump has spoken more positively about Ukraine, but given Kyiv nothing as Zelenskyy helps the U.S. in the war against Iran.
Ahead of a White House meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 28, multiple news outlets reported that their relationship was “warming.” In a July 27 article, the Wall Street Journal reported that “in recent weeks, the president has expressed fresh optimism about Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, according to people who have spoken to him.” Semafor also said relations were “warming,” and that the two leaders were meeting at the “peak of their relationship — though it may not last.”
On July 28, the meeting happened with no press, as did Trump’s other meeting of the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Zelenskyy described it as “good” and Trump said it went “very well.” While this meeting apparently went better than last year’s televised meeting where Trump and JD Vance berated Zelenskyy as television cameras were rolling, no new policies were announced. Traveling via train, car, and plane from Kyiv to Washington for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) funeral and a meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy seems to have come back empty-handed.
In Trump’s second term, the U.S. has sharply curtailed the assistance it has provided Ukraine, even briefly cutting off intelligence support. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the U.S. reduced its overall military, humanitarian and financial support by 99 percent, with Europe largely filling the gap. As Kyiv faces stepped-up ballistic missile attacks from Russia, Zelenskyy has appealed to the U.S. and Western countries for Patriot missiles to defend against them.
Earlier this month, Trump said that he would grant Ukraine the license to produce U.S.-made Patriot missiles, but this is a process that is likely to take years, and Ukraine needs more interceptor missiles now. The U.S. Department of Defense has said that only about 600 interceptor missiles are produced a year, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies has estimated that the U.S. has used over half of its supplies in Trump’s war of choice against Iran. As part of Trump’s cutoff of Ukraine funding, the U.S. no longer donates missiles to Ukraine -- Kyiv must finance the buys itself, often via European countries. Despite Trump’s reported “optimism” for Ukraine’s war strategy, he is offering Kyiv very little.
While in office, Trump has not announced any new major spending packages for Ukraine. According to Reuters, Trump’s Pentagon has told lawmakers that it will not finish spending the $400 million Congress has authorized for aid to Ukraine until 2029, the year Trump leaves office. ($400 million sounds like a lot, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the $127 billion in aid since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.) Reuters added that the funds include “$200 million for weapons, ammunition and explosives, $99.9 million for vehicles, spares and equipment and $100 million for services such as transportation of defense articles to Ukraine.” Democrats have accused Trump of slow-walking the military aid that his administration is legally obligated to spend, a similar charge that led to Trump’s first impeachment in 2019. With Congress in Republican hands, impeachment is off the table.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin looms large in the Zelenskyy-Trump relationship.
