Ukrainian Armed Forces’ setbacks at the front and the Putin-Trump meeting are driving Zelensky into a diplomatic trap – Axios

Volodymyr Zelensky may find himself “cornered diplomatically” due to the upcoming meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the breakthrough of Russian forces near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, and growing discontent within Ukraine.

This conclusion was reported by Axios.

According to American officials, Trump wants a personal meeting with Putin to assess his willingness for peace. The Ukrainian president and European leaders are concerned that the White House chief may agree to the Russian president’s tough demands.

“At this point, nobody knows what Trump wants to get from Putin on Friday. We don’t know how much we can influence Trump, but we must keep trying,” a Ukrainian official told the outlet.

U.S. officials claim that Trump’s rhetoric sometimes sounds pro-Russian because he is trying to move closer to a peace agreement. In reality, they say, he is still angry at Putin.

“For months, the prevailing view was that we could destroy the Russian economy tomorrow. There are other ways to destroy Ukraine. But if he had to choose a side, he would start destroying the Russian economy. He is truly tired of this,” an American official said.

He predicted that if diplomatic efforts fail, Trump will continue selling weapons to NATO countries for Ukraine.

“Perhaps Trump won’t be able to do it, but he will try everything,” the official said.