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During a Jan. 7 press conference, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for provoking Russia’s full-scale invasion by supporting Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations.Trump argued that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership has long been a major concern for Moscow. “That’s been like written in stone. And Biden said, ‘No, they should be able to join NATO.’ Then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep. I could understand their [Russia’s] feelings about that.”A report by The Wall Street Journal has previously suggested that Trump’s team was exploring a plan to delay Ukraine’s NATO membership by at least 20 years in exchange for Western arms supplies and European peacekeepers to monitor a potential ceasefire with Russia.Trump also criticized Biden’s foreign policy decisions, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, repeating his claims that they contributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a full-scale war against Ukraine. When asked about possible negotiations with Putin, Trump said he would wait until after his Jan. 20 inauguration to hold talks.”I don’t think it’s appropriate that I meet until after Jan. 20, which I hate because you know every day people are being — many, many young people are being killed — soldiers,” he said.On Dec. 19, Putin reiterated his willingness to engage in dialogue with Trump but upheld Moscow’s demands, including the desire to fully occupy four Ukrainian regions — Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — and a rejection of Ukraine’s NATO membership.Trump has pledged during the election campaign to bring a swift end to the war but has not outlined concrete steps for achieving peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s reported peace deal proposals on Dec. 29, saying that Moscow rejects any plan that fails to meet its demands.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed cautious optimism about working with the incoming U.S. administration, reiterating Ukraine’s commitment to a diplomatic resolution by 2025.‘Trump can be decisive in ending war’ — Zelensky on Ukraine’s outlook for 2025President Volodymyr Zelensky, joined alongside his wife First Lady Olena Zelenska, delivered a candid, wide-ranging interview on Ukrainian television released on Jan. 2, laying out his vision for Ukraine’s prospects of a potential peace in 2025. “How many days did 2024 have? 1,000?” Zelensky joked…
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.Read more
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