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Zelensky came out of the White House this time, the face is very unpleasant. To know, it is already his third time this year to fly to Washington, but this time is completely different from before. Trump is quite going to make surface articles, when meeting also boasted Lensky's coat "fashionable" "beautiful", but not long after the words, the real gun talk changed.
The news that came after the talks breathed a cold breath: Trump suggested that the Russian and Ukrainian sides "shut down on the current front and each announce victory", as to Zelensky's most desired cruise missile? was directly refused.
Zelensky wrote on his social media account that "this is a sharp conversation". It sounded polite, but he was actually admitting that he didn't get anything from this trip. The US media described the meeting as "frank and embarrassing", and the word "embarrassing" was used quite accurately. Imagine that you went all the way to ask for help, but as a result, people rejected all the conditions in front of you. Can the atmosphere not be embarrassing?
To be honest, the situation in Ukraine is really not very good. after more than three years, the money spent, people also sacrificed a lot, and the result was that their biggest relying on the mountain began to calculate how to "stop losses."This feeling is like you borrow money to a friend to start a business, just started to say that the flower collapsed to support in the end, and the result was that half of the people suddenly said "counted, almost enough," that sort of feeling abandoned, can be imagined.
Washington’s Calculator: From ‘support to end’ to ‘shut down’
To understand why Trump suddenly changed his face, we must first look at the actions of the United States in recent months. A few months ago, Trump suddenly announced the suspension of aid to Ukraine. At that time, many people thought it was just a means of pressure; recently, he even directly stated that weapons and equipment to assist Ukraine in the future would have to be purchased by NATO members themselves from the United States.
With this sequence operating, the signal has become clear: the United States no longer wants to be a “payment machine.”
Why does this happen? first of all, we have to talk about the "Tax" missile, which has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers and can hit directly into the heart of central Russia, and the power is really tough enough.Zelensky has even proposed to exchange for a large number of Ukrainian-made drones to get it, but it is a big concession.
The reason is realistic: the United States needs these missiles itself. Weapons production has a cycle, not to say that they can be produced immediately. If a large amount of inventory is given to Ukraine, the equipment reserves of the United States and the Asia-Pacific region will definitely be affected.
More importantly, Russia's attitude is very tough. Putin made a special call to Trump the day before the US-Ukraine meeting, saying bluntly that even if he gave the "Tomahawk", he would not change the war situation, but would completely destroy Russia-US relations. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov even warned that this might lead to "the most dangerous tension".
The strategic logic of the United States has always been clear: it must not confront Russia directly. Faced with this bottom line, the weapons that Ukraine wants will naturally have to be ranked later. But this is not the whole reason. What is really scary to think about is that the United States may be preparing to make a big deal with Russia, and Ukraine is the bargaining chip.
You see the timeline: the day before the meeting, Trump and Putin spoke for two and a half hours on the phone, directly defining the plan for the meeting in Budapest. This was the second time this year the two agreed to face-to-face interview. On the one hand, with Zelensky "strict dialogue", on the other hand, with Putin "speculative conversation", which is too clear, Washington has obviously made the idea to circumvent the conditions of Ukraine directly with Moscow.
Of course, the interests of the United States have changed. Previously, supporting Ukraine is because it can consume Russia, preserve NATO prestige, consolidate American influence in Europe. Now what? that consumption is almost as much as consume, continue to invest money but do not see clear benefits, but also risk a complete twist of relations with Russia.
Abandoned Appeal: When Chips Lose Value
For Ukraine, this visit to the United States was originally aimed at three core goals: to hit Russian long-range weapons, to recover occupied territories, and to join NATO for security. The request for the "Tax" missile was directly rejected, and Zelensky's proposed "drone replacement missile" scheme was not adopted. Without this heavy weapon, the Ukrainian army now can only compete with long-range drones, facing the Russian intensive missile offensive is basically not effective.
The territorial issue is even more embarrassing. Trump’s “local ceasefire” proposal is actually to allow Ukraine to cultivate and to “standardly recognize” those lands occupied by Russia in the East. Knowing that those areas are not a place where it is arbitrary, the resources are rich, the strategic location is critical, and it is the industrial heart of Ukraine.
After more than three years, so many people died, and finally lost the ground, how did Zelensky go home and deal with the domestic? he did not explicitly oppose Trump's proposal, but stressed that "a sharp dialogue" illustrated his inner reluctance.
As for NATO membership, let’s not mention it. This year Trump clearly said “no doors”, now no one even mentioned it. Previously, Ukraine considered NATO as “the ultimate mountain”, feeling that as long as it can join, there is an anti-Russia bottom.
Zelensky had previously hoped that "the ceasefire in Gaza would bring a turning point to Ukraine" and felt that international attention would return to the Ukrainian issue. Unexpectedly, this became the reason for the United States to put pressure on it to compromise: "Look, everyone else has ceased fire, but you are still fighting. Shouldn't you be pragmatic?"
To put it bluntly, when major countries begin to sit down and bargain, the demands for missiles, territory, and security that small countries are longing for will all become victims in the exchange of interests. This drama of a big country dominating the destiny of a small country has never been new in international politics, but it is only particularly conspicuous in Ukraine.
conclusion
As the Budapest meeting date gets closer, will Trump and Putin still consider the idea of Ukraine when they sit down to talk? I'm afraid the answer is no. For Ukraine, perhaps the cruelest reality is: when you lose the value of being used, you can't even keep your qualifications as a bargaining chip. This conflict, which has lasted for more than three years, may really come to an end in the way Ukraine least wants to see.
Source: The Paper News 2025-06-25 Zelensky will meet with Trump again. He previously insisted that Ukraine's accession to NATO is "mutual benefit."
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