On November 6, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited former US President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine. The aim of the visit appears pretty clear—stopping the war in Ukraine. According to experts, the invitation isn’t without a reason. Some would say that there’s something about Russia that all the US presidents don’t enjoy—excepting Trump. He is close to Putin; he doesn’t see him as an archenemy. It appears Zelensky wants to leverage Trump’s cordial relations with the Russian president to end the war ravaging his country, according to them.
Though Zelensky questioned Trump’s ability to make his pledge—of stopping the war within 24 hours—come to pass, a question arises here: Is Trump really able to stop the war in Ukraine? A look at the situation on the ground, that is, the scale of the Russian invasion in the country, as well as the nature and extent of Trump’s relations with Russia, could give clues on this.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its European allies have been marshaling resources, efforts, and support for the sake of Ukraine. They all have a shared objective: the desire to stop the Russian expansion and defiance of the current monopolar world order dominated by the US. This, according to commentators, has made the war appear more like a US versus Russia war than a Russia versus Ukraine war.
This is why a personality like former US President Donald Trump could step in to stop the ongoing war.
Trump is reported to have deep-rooted ties with Russia. There has been a so-called collusion. It has been investigated by the US Senate. Many say it’s something real. The Senate Intelligence Committee issued a 1,000-page report on the issue. However, the use of encrypted communications and the lack of cooperation with the investigators prevented reaching a decisive conclusion on the matter.
Contrary to the president’s frequent dismissals, the report exposes the Trump campaign’s active collaboration with Russian operatives in a deliberate influence campaign. It highlights interactions between Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik and Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, stating that campaign figures were susceptible to foreign influence, leading to significant counterintelligence vulnerabilities. Manafort was subsequently convicted of tax and bank fraud.
Moreover, Trump had praised the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine, as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump said in an interview on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”
The ex-President added: “So Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force,” Trump said. “We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen … Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well. Very, very well.” Given these comments, experts say that Trump will be unable to end the war in Ukraine. Moreover, if Trump intervenes in the dispute, his move will reverse the status quo, even tipping the scale in favor of Russia and helping it win the war. This is how, according to them, former US president Donald Trump is able to end the war in Ukraine. I appears, therefore, that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned Trump’s remarks, inviting him to visit the war-ravaged country grappling with the fallout from the Russian invasion that killed tens of thousands and devastated the country’s infrastructure.
