Zelensky defends himself against Trump and Vance after three years of war

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The sky over Kyiv seemed to be burst. On a horizon on which drones and air raids in the last ten days 47 civilians in ukrainien have killed superlatives: The most followed moment in the war since the invasion of Russia. The ugliest personality conflict-between a 48-year-old comedian who became the war leader and a very old billionaire who is the US president. The most important turning point in European history since 1989 or even 1945.

a difficult relationship

After the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj on Friday in a live broadcast by US President Donald Trump Ukraine was immediately unsure whether it should be angry with the treatment of the wealthy American elites - after three years of the Russian bombing and brutality - or hastily looking for a solution to Kiev's relationship with the ally, without which it can probably not survive.

reactions and assumptions

Ukrainian military channels on Telegram expressed their displeasure and said they would rather die on their feet rather than beg on their knees. The Kiev officers radiated solidarity. But the floor under her feet suddenly seemed to be gone. "There is nothing we can do to fix this," said a high-ranking US official and added that Selenskyj's solution had to come. Trump confidante Senator Lindsey Graham speculated that Selenskyj should clarify or resign quickly.

a crucial moment

Selenskyj's task on Friday was simple and almost done: A draft for an important agreement on critical minerals was waiting to be signed. The mood in his meeting was festive overall - not even clouded by his hard words about Putin. The war guide's choice of clothes - a black long -sleeved shirt that he always wears - did not want Trump to agree, but did not bother the process. It needed Vances, who often participates in Trump's international meetings, but rarely speaks to change that.

The reality of the war

disinformation is often the luxury good of the privileged. The basic necessities of life - electricity, food and water - must be present to afford the privilege, to spread or believe untruths. When Selenskyj was confronted with a Vice-Presidential lesson about Russian diplomacy-which has had little more than the military goals of Moscow in Ukraine since 2014-he tried to defend himself. When Trump later told him he had "no cards", Selenskyj replied: "I don't play cards." The Ukrainians do not play cards, they die in a shocking number that is far understood in the numbers that Trump calls again and again, even though they also want peace.

a deep ditch

This cruel ditch between the parties in the Oval Office is clear. On the one hand, a country in which the reality of war is personal because it affects relatives and friends who will never come back, and homes that can never be returned. On the other hand, America's right flank, which because of the lack of gratitude for their help - gave to defeat a decades of opponents without American victims. "You are not grateful at all. And that's not nice," said Trump, as if the costs of tens of thousands of Ukrainian life would not be a kind of gratitude.

The way forward

Selenskyj later said in an interview with Fox News that he saw no reason for an apology towards Trump, but he believed that the relationship could be saved. Trump and Vance have never experienced the war up close, but they are still repelled by him. They seem to believe that Selenskyj, who has been going through the horrors of war for three years, need a lesson over peace that everyone who has experienced war is longing. Money ignorance taught loudly exhausted experiences.

resilience and hope

What's coming now? Selenskyj has probably survived the crucial moment of his presidency. He either has to heal this gap in a magical way, somehow survive or step back and give someone the chance - the last of them maybe the easiest. But to resign from power, as Moscow would like, could trigger a crisis on the front lines and undermine the political clarity and legitimacy of the government in Kiev, where parliamentary processes or incorrect war elections would probably have difficulty finding a clean successor.

There are no good decisions before us, no safe missions. Nevertheless, one has been comforting since I returned to Kyiv. The security of Europe-after three challenging weeks of the Trump administration, which questioned democracy and alliances on the continent-may appear in the crisis from a comfortable perspective in London, Paris or Munich. Somehow the doubts in Kyiv feel more easier after three years. Waves of drones come here at night, but the city adapts, people hold through, the lights stay on.

This resilience makes Selenskyj's anchored reaction to Vance's teaching about the victims and dangers of his nation easier to understand. Like a Ukrainian civilian summarized it last evening: "Would also be a value. If Russia cannot destroy it, why does the US think it could?"