Description: The latest leaders meeting between US President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy pushed the outcome of the war into more uncharted territory and Ukraine’s security on shifting ground. Zelenskyy and Trump met in the White House to discuss further US military support for Ukraine and the previous phone conversation between Putin and Trump. The Ukrainian leader left the meeting underwhelmed and disappointed as Trump reportedly insisted on Ukraine to cede territory to Russia and freeze the frontline according to the present conditions on the battlefronts. Trump also continued to flirt with the idea of delivering Tomahawk long range missiles to Ukraine, however, he stated that no rushed out or immediate decisions would be made on the front. Trump reportedly offered Zelenskyy to retain the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in return for ceding the 78% of Russian – controlled territory in the Donbas region. Trump is scheduled to meet Putin in the next couple of weeks in Budapest, Hungary in what would be their second leaders summit this year.
Impact: The constantly shifting US position on the war in Ukraine would further embolden Russia to insert its demands for ending the war in Ukraine. President Trump has been repeatedly outmaneuvered on the diplomatic front by his Russian counterpart, while the realities on the frontlines have prohibited the US President to fully commit and throw his weight behind completely supporting Ukraine in the war. Russia has insisted on territorial exchanges as a minimal requirement in approaching peace negotiations in good faith, a position which evidently resonates with the US President whose priority is to conclude some form of a deal which would contribute in enhancing his international profile as a peacemaker. Ukraine remains highly dependent on support from its European partners with the US positioning itself in more of a mediating role rather than supporting role. Russia largely benefits from the inconclusive outcome of the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump as Putin would most definitely enforce Russia’s demands in the upcoming leaders meeting in Budapest.