This weekend, Trump made a statement in which he blamed Ukraine for the record high prices of diesel, as Ukraine bombs oil refineries in Russia. But experts agree that it is the US war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that have driven up global fuel prices, putting Republicans in a bad position ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
First, Trump announced a "deal" to allow Russia to sell large quantities of diesel on the world market. Then he demanded that Ukraine stop bombing Russian oil facilities. His argument is that the prices of diesel can go down if Russia is allowed to export again. The problem is that Russia doesn't have much to sell. Recently, they have instead been forced to import diesel.
Trump also explained:
- Zelensky could have resolved the issue a long time ago, many times. But he chooses not to. He wants to cause trouble for the world...He should damn well stop.
Of course, that doesn't match the facts. Zelenskyi has countless times proposed cease-fires and negotiations, including directly with Putin. It is the Russian president who has rejected all such proposals, stressing instead that Zelenskyi is not a legitimate president and that Russia's goal of the war remains unchanged.
On Sunday, Trump suddenly announced that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire, "immediately". It was apparently news to Zelenskyi, but he said he accepts it provided Russia does as well.
The basic problem is that Trump has never wanted to understand what the war in Ukraine is about. Sometimes he has described the war as a boys' fight in a school yard. And at times he has said that the war would never have started if only he had been president in February 2022.
Trump has never singled out Russia as an aggressor. He sees the war in Ukraine as a territorial conflict between two neighboring countries, even though the Kremlin is waging a classic colonial war to restore the lost Russian empire.
For Ukraine, it is a defensive struggle for survival as a free nation. Putin cannot accept the loss of Russia's vassal territories, and Ukraine is by far the most important part of the former great power empire to recapture.
Maybe Trump doesn't care about that. On the other hand, he instinctively admires Putin's autocratic power and brutality. They both want a world order where great powers have the right to spheres of interest and can dictate the destinies of their neighboring countries.
Trump has demonstrated this through the threats against Greenland and Canada and the abduction of the president of Venezuela. Putin has been even more brazen in relation to Ukraine and Belarus.
And then there is always a profitable business deal around the corner. It is telling that the US President's negotiators on the Ukraine war, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are not diplomats but businessmen. During their many visits to Putin, they have discussed various possible Russian-American deals, especially in the energy sector.
Now Trump has once again copied one of Putin's talking points by demanding Zelensky's resignation.
In Ukraine, the reaction to Trump's actions was outraged, and many believed that Trump had given Ukraine a stab in the back. Zelensky also spoke unusually sharply, and spoke of a "birthday present for Putin".
- Every additional billion dollars that Russia can earn from exports will be used to acquire and import critical components and equipment for weapons production, upgrade attack drones, produce robots and recruit even more mercenaries, Zelenskyy said.
It doesn't look like Ukraine has any intention of stopping bombing Russian oil facilities. It would be giving up one of the main means of putting pressure on Russia.
A number of American politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, are condemning Trump's latest actions on Ukraine. Trump's former vice-president Mike Pence calls the decision to lift sanctions against Russia, at the same time as Putin increases terrorist bombings against civilian targets in Ukraine, a "treason".
But in Trump's case, it's hard to see the betrayal as a surprise. He has for decades openly sided with Putin, not saying a word about Russia's escalating deadly attacks on Ukraine.
A few weeks ago, former chess champion and opposition politician Garry Kasparov told DN:
- Everything we know about Trump tells us that he may help Putin again. After all, he has done everything to get Ukraine to capitulate. On my X account I have asked the question: "If Trump was a Russian agent, what would he do differently?"
