Following the disastrous meeting last Friday within the Oval Office, it seems everything he says doesn’t go well with the president Donald Trump. Since the US has halted aid to Ukraine and his options are becoming increasingly limited.
Even an ex-close Republican friend in the US senator Lindsey Graham, has turned on him and suggested “he either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change”.
What kind of change could be needed – or should you resign as the cost to gain US support?
Should he apologize to Trump?
This is Zelensky’s most likely route out, and the Ukrainian prime minister declares that Kyiv is open to discussions about a deal for minerals in the US.
Trump said to Zelensky at the point of no return on Friday that the president was not in a great position “You don’t have the cards right now – with us you start having cards.”
Zelensky was preparing to sign the deal on minerals in a meeting with Trump on Friday, but Zelensky was instructed to quit his place in the White House.
This particular card seems to be on the table and on Monday night, Zelensky’s chief adviser Andriy Yermak stated that the plan was in progress together with Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick and the deal was “crucial for both our countries”.
However, it is clear that Trump administration Trump administration is waiting for more.
Zelensky is not able to afford to bow down to an apology that is utterly unworthy. Three years after Russian attack, Ukrainians are not in the mood for surrender.
However, he will need to come up with words that would be acceptable to Trump.
He may also need to agree to a ceasefire according to Trump’s terms, despite the fact that Trump believes that peace remains “very, very far away”.
Could the deal lead to the resumption of aid, and how much? It’s certainly a top priority for Kyiv.
The head of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee Oleksandr Merezhko says the suspension of US aid could be dangerous to Ukraine’s ability to protect its civilians.
Is it possible to resign?
Slapping his sword not something Zelensky is likely to do or even think about.
Trump has repeatedly called him not elected and a dictator similar to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Russian propaganda story from the start of the conflict.
Zelensky declared on Sunday night that it appeared “a bit undemocratic” for Ukrainians to be informed about who will be their president.
He is the elected president of Ukraine, and even though his term was supposed to come to an end in 2013 but he is still President under martial law which was enacted due to the Putin’s Russian invasion.
It’s a wonderful outcome for Putin who has aspired to succeed Zelensky since the beginning of the war. He is not even able to talk directly with Zelensky “because of his illegitimacy”.
However, the only option Zelensky could think about it is in exchange for Nato membership in exchange for Ukraine and Trump has stated that he must not think about it.
Can he count on Ukraine itself or Europe instead?
A number of Ukrainian officials declared that they will stick the line for as long as they needed without US assistance, however certain reports suggest that the US suspension has stopped vital air defence missiles as well as artillery.
Ukrainian MEP Fedir Venislavskyi said to local media that they could last around six months, however just the US could supply the Ukrainians Air defence mechanisms as well as Long-range multi rockets.
Premier Minister Denys Shmyhal has said Ukraine has already produced about one-third of the weapons that it needs and the goal was to achieve 50 percent.
Therefore, can Zelensky depend in European Allies rather than European?
European nations have significantly greater than US on aid for Ukraine and the chief of the European Union’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen has made public plans to increase Europe’s capability in defence.
She’s putting forward as much as EUR800 billion in defense funding, some of that would go towards aiding Ukraine.
However, both the EU and UK are insistent the US Security guarantees are essential in the case of a ceasefire even if, in Sir Keir Starmer’s remarks “it is right that Europe do the heavy lifting”.
Denis Shmyhal himself describes concrete US security guarantees to be “existentially important” for Ukraine as well as the whole continent.
