By Aamer Madhani
Washington (AP) – Ukraine received a “fair warning” by the White House before President Donald Trump ordered him a break on US military assistance and intelligence with kyiv, a senior administration official said on Thursday.
The republican administration has announced that the breaks this week after the meeting of the Oval Office of Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has transformed into a cries match, the American president and the vice-president JD Vance excoriating the Ukrainian leader for having been insufficiently grateful for the dozens of billions of dollars in UKRAINE in Ukraine since Invited three years ago.
Lieutenant-general retired Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy in Ukraine and Russia, said the break already had an impact on kyiv, adding that the Ukrainians “brought him to themselves”.
“The best way I can describe it is a bit like hitting a mule with two per four across the nose,” Kellogg said at an event on the council of foreign relations on Thursday. “You drew their attention.”
Kellogg said it was specified in the Ukrainians before last week’s oval office meeting that talks would focus on signing a critical mineral agreement. The agreement, which the two parties have still not signed, would give the United States access to the rare land deposits of Ukraine and could be useful for American aerospace vehicles, electric vehicles and medical manufacturing.
Trump administration officials said the Economic Pact would link the United States and Ukraine closer and would give the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s break before considering the Maligne Action against Ukraine in the future. Zelenskyy had pressed the White House for explicit security guarantees, in vain.
Kellogg said last week’s talks took place on the side because Zelenskyy had pressed Trump – who was trying to play the role of intermediary to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia – next to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy later called the “regrettable” stormy words and said he was ready to sign an agreement. He told Brussels in Brussels on Thursday that he was grateful for their support and said that teams in the United States and Ukraine had resumed their work and hoped to have “a significant meeting” next week.
“Ukraine has been looking for peace since the very first second of the war, and we have always said that the only reason why the war continues is due to Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his speech, which was published on the website of the Ukrainian president.
But Kellogg said that he could not guarantee a resumption of arms deliveries even if Zelenskyy accepts the agreement.
“It’s the president,” Kellogg said. He added: “You do not negotiate discussions on public peace. You are not trying to challenge the President of the United States at the Oval Office. »»
Trump declared Tuesday in a speech before the congress that Zelenskyy had written to tell him that he appreciated the support of his country in his war with Russia. Trump said Zelenskyy had told him that Ukraine was ready to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia as soon as possible and would accept the mineral agreement with the United States to facilitate this.
Although Trump said he had “appreciated” receiving the letter, he did not say if it would affect his policy towards Ukraine.
The suspension of the sharing of American intelligence with Ukraine will harm Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against current Russian attacks against military and civil targets, according to an assessment of the Institute for the Study of War. The research group said that the suspension of all American intelligence with Ukraine would also allow Russian forces to intensify their drones and missile strikes against Ukrainian back, affecting millions of Ukrainian civilians and the growth of the Ukraine’s industrial defense base.
The writer AP Susie Blann in Kyiv contributed the reports.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
