While the world watched the first day of public impeachment hearings this week, Ukraine was at war.
It has been for five years, since Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and fomented, funded and supported an armed rebellion in the eastern Donbass region. Though that conflict faded from headlines until the whistleblower complaint that unleashed this impeachment inquiry, at least 13,000 people have died there.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the comedian-turned-politician who was elected Ukraine’s president in spring, ran his campaign on a promise to end the war – and the sacrifice of Ukrainian lives.
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But by reportedly making a White House meeting and military aid conditional on partisan investigations, the Trump administration appears to have undermined Zelensky’s ability to deliver on that promise.
Without the unquestionable support of its strongest ally, Ukraine is entering into future negotiations with Russia from a significantly weakened position.
Republicans seem eager to point out that the pressure campaign waged by the Trump administration and shadow diplomats Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman didn’t work and, therefore, was inconsequential.
But none of that matters. Harsh daylight shines through the gap between Trump’s words and his administration’s actions on Ukraine. More than American military aid’s ability to “kill Russian tanks”, as one Republican representative ineloquently put it at Wednesday’s hearing, Ukrainians have counted on the rhetorical support that aid and an Oval Office photo op provides.
Not a single Javelin missile has been used on the Ukrainian battlefield; they instead act as a deterrent, preventing further Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory and, until recently, carrying the weight of the US-Ukraine alliance.
Zelensky had made meaningful progress toward ending the war: He oversaw a lauded prisoner exchange in September, a tentative de-escalation and disengagement in key areas along the de facto Russian-Ukrainian border, and the repair of a critical bridge at a border crossing. That progress is now in jeopardy.
He reportedly is seeking a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has endorsed a German peace plan that his predecessor long resisted.
Zelensky has maintained that he felt “no pressure” in his dealings with the Trump administration, undoubtedly to preserve what little relationship remains. But privately, he must question whether he is among the “terrible” Ukrainians whom Trump reportedly described in White House meetings.
Heading into negotiations with Putin, Zelensky will wonder whether the White House and Congress have his country’s back, or whether the 30-year project of US support for Ukraine will be undone via tweet.
Putin won’t wonder. As William Taylor, the US’s top diplomat in Ukraine, said, “The Russians always look for vulnerabilities”, and sidelining Ukraine’s most powerful ally is undoubtedly one.
Since Trump announced his candidacy, he has cast doubt on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and described Ukrainians as corrupt and terrible.
Ukraine’s negotiating position has been weakened significantly. The damage is done. On Ukraine’s front lines, where lives are lost weekly, the consequences of Trump’s apparent opportunism will continue to reverberate.
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Nina Jankowicz: 'Price on ground in Ukraine for president's apparent opportunism is lives being lost'
Nina Jankowicz: 'Price on ground in Ukraine for president's apparent opportunism is lives being lost'
While the world watched the first day of public impeachment hearings this week, Ukraine was at war.
It has been for five years, since Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and fomented, funded and supported an armed rebellion in the eastern Donbass region. Though that conflict faded from headlines until the whistleblower complaint that unleashed this impeachment inquiry, at least 13,000 people have died there.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the comedian-turned-politician who was elected Ukraine’s president in spring, ran his campaign on a promise to end the war – and the sacrifice of Ukrainian lives.
Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
Log In
New to Independent.ie? Create an account
But by reportedly making a White House meeting and military aid conditional on partisan investigations, the Trump administration appears to have undermined Zelensky’s ability to deliver on that promise.
Without the unquestionable support of its strongest ally, Ukraine is entering into future negotiations with Russia from a significantly weakened position.
Republicans seem eager to point out that the pressure campaign waged by the Trump administration and shadow diplomats Rudy Giuliani, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman didn’t work and, therefore, was inconsequential.
But none of that matters. Harsh daylight shines through the gap between Trump’s words and his administration’s actions on Ukraine. More than American military aid’s ability to “kill Russian tanks”, as one Republican representative ineloquently put it at Wednesday’s hearing, Ukrainians have counted on the rhetorical support that aid and an Oval Office photo op provides.
Not a single Javelin missile has been used on the Ukrainian battlefield; they instead act as a deterrent, preventing further Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory and, until recently, carrying the weight of the US-Ukraine alliance.
Zelensky had made meaningful progress toward ending the war: He oversaw a lauded prisoner exchange in September, a tentative de-escalation and disengagement in key areas along the de facto Russian-Ukrainian border, and the repair of a critical bridge at a border crossing. That progress is now in jeopardy.
He reportedly is seeking a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has endorsed a German peace plan that his predecessor long resisted.
Zelensky has maintained that he felt “no pressure” in his dealings with the Trump administration, undoubtedly to preserve what little relationship remains. But privately, he must question whether he is among the “terrible” Ukrainians whom Trump reportedly described in White House meetings.
Heading into negotiations with Putin, Zelensky will wonder whether the White House and Congress have his country’s back, or whether the 30-year project of US support for Ukraine will be undone via tweet.
Putin won’t wonder. As William Taylor, the US’s top diplomat in Ukraine, said, “The Russians always look for vulnerabilities”, and sidelining Ukraine’s most powerful ally is undoubtedly one.
Since Trump announced his candidacy, he has cast doubt on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and described Ukrainians as corrupt and terrible.
Ukraine’s negotiating position has been weakened significantly. The damage is done. On Ukraine’s front lines, where lives are lost weekly, the consequences of Trump’s apparent opportunism will continue to reverberate.
Source: Read Full Article