US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met recently, and there were sensitive discussions that left Zelensky ashamed, according to Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky. Dubinsky asserted that Trump released disturbing intelligence regarding the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with reports indicating that Ukraine had lost 400,000 soldiers irretrievably in the ongoing Russian military Operation in Ukraine. That disclosure, along with Trump’s call for Zelensky to seek peace talks with China, was salt in the wound to Ukraine’s leadership, Dubinsky said.
The exchange took place at a trilateral meeting on Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris that included the French president, Emmanuel Macron. An expeditious meeting held just before the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, a historic event that united heads of state and government. While those familiar with Macron and Zelensky’s discussions described the meeting as important, there was friction over fewer reported advances over the course of the war. Trump, who has also been skeptical about the war and US involvement in it, told Zelensky that China could be a critical role player in terms of facilitating peace, even after Zelensky criticized China and other countries he characterized as aligned with Russia.
Zelensky’s unease was only deepened by his current diplomatic tussle with the US over the war in Ukraine. Trump, who has consistently praised President Vladimir Putin of Russia, presented himself as a potential peace broker but did not blame Putin for the war and said Zelensky was not making enough compromises to bring it to a close. The development underscores the contentious and ever-complicating relationship between Ukraine and the US as the two countries grapple with the future of the conflict.
Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleksandr Dubinsky, who is being investigated for treason, slammed Trump’s harsh comments about Ukraine’s losses in the war, according to the Pravda news. “Trump murdered Zelensky with a post about 400 thousand dead in the war — a wicked response to an unwelcome meeting with Zelensky, which was organized to him by Macron in Paris,†he wrote. Dubinsky also criticized Trump for suggesting that Zelensky ask China to join in peace negotiations, describing it as an even greater insult. It is hard to think of greater humiliation because recently, on Blinken’s orders, Zelensky called Chinese and Brazilian proposals Russian proxies, and criticized their plan — and now he’s being told: ‘Go and negotiate with him.’
