Russian officials and state media took a triumphant tone on Thursday after President Donald Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced he would to negotiate a peace deal in the almost three-year-long .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he will not accept any negotiations about Ukraine that do not include his country in the talks. European governments also demanded a seat at the table.
Trump鈥檚 change of tack seemed to identify Putin as the only player that matters in ending the fighting and looked set to sideline Zelenskyy, as well as European governments, in any peace negotiations. The Ukrainian leader recently
Putin has been ostracized by the West since Russia鈥檚 Feb. 2022 invasion of its neighbor, and in 2023 the International Criminal Court for the Russian leader for war crimes.
Trump鈥檚 announcement created a major diplomatic upheaval, one that could herald a watershed moment for Ukraine and Europe.
Russia rejoices at Putin鈥檚 spotlight role
鈥淭o us, the position of the current (U.S.) administration is much more appealing,鈥� Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
Russian officials and state-backed media appeared triumphant after Wednesday鈥檚 call between Trump and Putin that lasted more than an hour.
鈥淭he presidents of Russia and the U.S. have talked at last. This is very important in and of itself,鈥� the deputy chair of Russia鈥檚 National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an online statement.
Senior lawmaker Alexei Pushkov said that the call 鈥渨ill go down in the history of world politics and diplomacy.鈥�
鈥淚 am sure that in Kyiv, Brussels, Paris and London they are now reading Trump鈥檚 lengthy statement on his conversation with Putin with horror and cannot believe their eyes,鈥� Pushkov wrote on his messaging app.
Russia鈥檚 state news agency RIA Novosti said in an opinion column: 鈥淭he U.S. finally hurt Zelenskyy for real,鈥� adding that Trump had found 鈥渃ommon ground鈥� with Putin.
鈥淭his means that the formula 鈥榥othing about Ukraine without Ukraine鈥� 鈥� a sacred cow for Zelenskyy, the European Union and the previous U.S. administration 鈥� no longer exists. Moreover, the opinion of Kyiv and Brussels (the European Union) is of no interest to Trump at all,鈥� it added.
Russian popular pro-Kremlin tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda went even further and published a column stating in the headline that 鈥淭rump signed Zelenskyy鈥檚 death sentence.鈥�
鈥淭he myth of Russia as a 鈥榩ariah鈥� in global politics, carefully inflated by Western propaganda, has burst with a bang,鈥� the column said.
Zelenskyy won鈥檛 accept talks without Ukraine
In his first comments to journalists since Trump held individual calls first with Putin and then Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader said the main thing was to 鈥渘ot allow everything to go according to Putin鈥檚 plan.鈥�
鈥淲e cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements (made) without us. I articulate this very clearly to our partners 鈥� any bilateral negotiations about Ukraine, not on other topics, but any bilateral talks about Ukraine without us 鈥� we will not accept,鈥� Zelenskyy said as he visited a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said during his conversation with Trump on Wednesday, the U.S. president told him he wanted to speak to both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders at the same time.
鈥淗e never mentioned in a conversation that Putin and Russia was a priority. We, today, trust these words. For us it is very important to preserve the support of the United States of America,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
Alarm bells ring in Europe and NATO
Trump appears minded to make a deal over the heads of Ukraine and European governments.
He also effectively dashed Ukraine鈥檚 hopes of becoming part of NATO, which the alliance said less than a year ago was , or getting back the parts of its territory, estimated at close to 20% of the country, captured so far by the Russian army.
The U.S. administration鈥檚 approach to a potential settlement is notably close to Moscow鈥檚 vision of how the war should end. That has within the 32-nation NATO alliance and 27-nation European Union.
Some European governments who fear their countries could also be in the Kremlin鈥檚 crosshairs were alarmed by Washington鈥檚 new course, saying they must be part of negotiations.
鈥淯kraine, Europe and the United States should work on this together. TOGETHER,鈥� Poland鈥檚 Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media Wednesday.
Others balked at Trump鈥檚 overtures and poured cold water on his upbeat outlook.
鈥淛ust as Putin has no intention of stopping hostilities even during potential talks, we must maintain Western unity and increase support 鈥� to Ukraine, and political and economic pressure on Russia,鈥� Estonia鈥檚 Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. 鈥淥ur actions must show that we are not changing course.鈥�
A Ukrainian soldier is resigned to Trump and Putin talking
A soldier from Ukraine鈥檚 53rd Brigade fighting in the eastern Donetsk region said it was normal for Trump and Putin to speak to each other.
鈥淚f dialogue is one way to influence the situation, then let them talk 鈥� but let it be meaningful enough for us to feel the results of those talks,鈥� the soldier said, insisting on anonymity due to security risks for her family in occupied Ukrainian territory.
But she was skeptical about the negotiations, given the incompatible demands tabled in the past by Russia and Ukraine.
鈥淭he conditions are unacceptable for everyone. What we propose doesn鈥檛 work for them, and what they propose is unacceptable for us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I, like probably every soldier here, believe this can only be resolved by force.鈥�
A Ukrainian army officer, who said he鈥檚 in touch with more than 40 brigades, said the troops he regularly speaks with don鈥檛 want a peace deal at any price even as they are desperate for more Western military aid.
鈥淭he stock we currently have, in terms of ammunition, is enough to last two or three weeks, maybe a month,鈥� he told The Associated Press, asking that his name not be used because he wasn鈥檛 authorized to speak to the media.
鈥淲e definitely cannot deal with it on our own,鈥� he added.
