Zelenskyy's High-Stakes Diplomacy: Ukraine's Fate in the Balance
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Zelenskyy's High-Stakes Diplomacy: Ukraine's Fate in the Balance
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About this listen
The past few days for me Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been a whirlwind of high-stakes diplomacy and urgent maneuvering as the fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance. First let me take you back to Wednesday when I held a lengthy joint call with President Donald Trump and European leaders which lasted over an hour. We discussed peace prospects and I made it absolutely clear that any so called solutions to the war cannot be made over Ukraine’s head or without our explicit participation. As reported by the official Ukrainian presidential site I emphasized that there must be a real ceasefire and truly reliable security guarantees and that Russia must never have veto power over Ukraine’s future in Europe or NATO. President Trump voiced support for these principles and for the inclusion of Ukraine and European partners at every stage.
Thursday saw me in London where I met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street. Though details of our talks were kept close to the chest I pressed for unambiguous European support and stressed that no decisions about Ukraine should be taken without Ukraine as Sky News covered. Starmer echoed that sentiment publicly and the visit was seen as a critical photo op framing European moral and strategic solidarity ahead of the Alaska summit.
All eyes then shifted to Alaska where Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for a high stakes summit on Friday to discuss a possible Ukraine ceasefire. In a scene straight out of Cold War theater neither leader took questions and both made vague claims about “great progress” but admitted there was no agreement. I was not present in Alaska—a pointed snub that I did not let go unremarked. In my national address the weekend before I repeated that any deal made without Ukraine would be stillborn and unworkable. According to ABC News Trump said after the summit that it was “up to President Zelenskyy to get it done” and promised to call me. That call led to my own major announcement: I am traveling to Washington DC on Monday for a face to face with President Trump to go over every detail of the US Russia summit and to negotiate concrete steps toward ending the war. I expressed gratitude for the invitation and signaled openness to Trump’s proposed “trilateral” talks involving Ukraine Russia and the United States.
Meanwhile the news in Ukraine has been as grim as ever. According to Radio Free Europe Russian forces unleashed another wave of drone and missile strikes hours after the Alaska summit with deadly attacks in Dnipropetrovsk and several other regions. On social media and in official statements I have reiterated there is no sign that Russia intends to end the war and that Ukraine’s leadership will never accept territorial concessions without ironclad international guarantees.
On social platforms and in headlines my stance that Kyiv not Moscow or Washington must decide its own fate has been widely shared and quoted. The world is watching as I step into what could be the most consequential week of my presidency facing a minefield of global interests, war fatigue, and diplomatic expectations. All of it is underscored by the simple but existential demand I keep repeating: there is no peace for Ukraine without Ukraine at the table.
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