Zelenskyy decided to lecture Trump? That's a bad idea

If Trump wants to cement his legacy as a peacemaker and improve his chances of winning the midterm elections, he should seize this moment to end the war in Ukraine, already the deadliest Europe has seen in generations, ‘The Atlantic’ notes.

It’s also, Zelensky said, a path to success for Republicans in November. “The most advantageous situation for Trump is to do this before the midterms,” Zelensky said of the chance to end the war. “Yes, he wants there to be less deaths. But if you and I are talking like adults, it’s just a victory for him, a political one.”

By this point, Zelensky knows well what motivates Trump. He is also, however, a realist when it comes to the odds that Trump actually forces the Russians to compromise.

Throughout the hour we spent together in his office, Zelensky exhibited the quality that has been core to his character for years, even decades — his stubborn, sometimes-petulant habit of resisting outside pressure. If you tell Zelensky he has to do something, “he’s probably going to do the opposite,” said one of his longtime advisers who, like others, spoke with me on the condition of anonymity. “It’s always been like that.”

Some members of Zelensky’s inner circle are growing anxious that his window to cut a deal is closing, and that Ukraine will suffer through years of continued fighting if an end to the war isn’t negotiated this spring.

Trump has taken a different approach. On the campaign trail, he promised to bring peace to Ukraine within a day of taking office, and his failure after a year of halting attempts at diplomacy continues to irk him. Zelensky senses that, and so do his enemies. The American campaign season has become a ticking clock in their negotiating rooms, and the Russians also understand that the attention of the White House will soon be diverted by congressional races.

The Ukrainians sensed that time was running out. In the coming weeks, as the campaign season consumes more of Trump’s attention, he could decide that the negotiations have become a political loser for him. He might then walk away, laying the blame for the failure of diplomacy on the intransigence of one or both of the warring sides. “The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war,” Zelensky said. “That’s why we started supporting their proposals in any format that speeds things along.”

No matter the risk of losing Trump’s attention as a mediator, the Ukrainian leader says that he will stand firm on his core demand: The first step to peace must be a guarantee from the United States and Europe that, once a cease-fire takes hold, they will defend Ukraine against any future attack from Russia.

At the end of last month, he said an agreement on security guarantees from the U.S. was “100 percent ready” for Ukraine to sign. “We are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place when we will sign it,” he told reporters at a news conference.

The invitation never came, and Zelensky conceded in our interview that basic questions related to the document remain unresolved.

For now, the American answers have been too vague and noncommittal for Zelensky to accept. “We need all of this to be written out,” he said.

Zelensky wants to hold elections. Are they possible under martial law?

The Trump administration has put pressure on Zelensky to hold presidential elections. However, the Ukrainian constitution forbids any vote during a time of martial law, ‘The Times’ writes.

The Ukrainian leader now intends to hold elections and a referendum on a peace proposal on the same day, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, and will announce his plans on February 24, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Washington has reportedly demanded Kyiv hold the vote by May 15 or face forfeiting potential US security guarantees.

Zelensky faces several obstacles before an election can be held. He cannot change the Ukrainian constitution without the backing of two-thirds of MPs, which he does not have. He also cannot lift martial law without releasing around half of its soldiers from the army, as their contracts stipulate they must serve only as long as it is in place. Ending martial law would also lift a restriction preventing fighting-age men from leaving the country.

Parliamentarians are instead working on amendments to the election law that would allow the vote to be held as a one-time exception under martial law that did not set a precedent for future votes.

Zelensky has been president since 2019. In the latest nationwide opinion poll by Ipsos, he trailed Valerii Zaluzhny — his ambassador to the UK, former military commander-in-chief and a potential independent candidate — by three percentage points.

Zelensky said the US wanted the Russia-Ukraine war to end by June. When questioned on a possible time frame for an agreement, Zelensky replied: “The Americans say that they want to do everything by June.

“Why before this summer?” he added. “We understand that their domestic issues in the US will have an impact.” He appeared to be referring to the midterm congressional elections, which will take place in November.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs