Following an intense meeting with President Donald Trump on Feb. 28, Washington paused all military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine to pressure a negotiation on its terms.
During their assembly, Trump accused Ukrainian President Zelenskyy of being ungrateful for U.S. support in the war and threatened to step back from aiding Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Afterward, Zelenskyy expressed his regret over how the meeting unfolded.
On X, he said “I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”
Ukraine agreed to a United States proposal of a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia, and the U.S. announced an immediate restoration of military aid and intelligence sharing.
Reports also indicate that Russia has handed Washington its list of demands for a deal to resolve the conflict with Ukraine and restore relations with the US. However, they have not accepted the ceasefire proposal.
However, after the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, UMKC associate professor of political science Dr. Rebecca Best believes the push for peace will largely be on Russian terms.
“While it’s not clear what the White House is demanding from Zelenskyy, they are probably trying to get Ukraine to agree to give up the territory that Russia currently occupies and accept Putin’s word that he won’t attempt to gain anymore,” she said.
Dr. Best believes the United States is responsible for protecting Ukraine and maintaining our international system. However, we’ve put our international credibility on the line because we failed to provide the aid promised to Ukraine.
“The bigger impact of this conflict for people is probably the effect on the United States’ standing in the world,” she said. “This conflict has the potential to destabilize Europe, where we have many allies. We’re making it harder for other countries to trust us when we’ve provided this security guarantee, and we’re going back on it.”
Junior UMKC student Ashlyn Allison said she has general knowledge about the war and believes Russia’s actions against Ukraine are wrong.
“Students are probably not generally informed. There’s so much going on in the media that it can be hard to keep up with everything and our school work [at the same time],” she said.
Dr. Best advised people concerned about this war to call their representatives and remind them that this situation matters.
People negatively affected by the conflict in Ukraine can reach out to Stand With Ukraine KC.
Read more about past Russian-Ukrainian War coverage here.
