Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, Palm Beach, Florida, December 28, 2025 (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
EA on RTE: What’s Next for Ukraine After Zelensky-Trump Meeting in Florida
UPDATE, JAN 3:
I joined Pakistan TV on Friday for a 17-minute analysis of European support for Ukraine’s resistance of Russia’s invasion.
I discuss recent developments, from Europe’s involvement in proposals to end the invasion to its commitment of a €90 billion loan to meet Kyiv’s financial needs into 2027.
I evaluate longer-term European plans, including the intention to put €800 billion into defense investment and production over the next five years.
I consider the domestic effects of the quest for security.
And I emphasize, pushing back the narrative of Pakistan TV: this is not as much the “militarization” of Europe as it is the response to the threat of Vladimir Putin’s Russia across all political, economic, social, and military spheres.
It’s a question for all countries. Are you going to stand up for the international system? Are you going to stand up for the United Nations? Are you going to stand up for regional organizations?
Because unless you take a firm line with both the Russians and the Trump Administration, they will take you down this path of disorder. It is a “survival of the fittest” approach that we had in the 19th century and that, after two World Wars, we tried to get away from.
Watch from 3:45:
ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 31: I joined Poland’s TVP World on Wednesday to analyze the negotiations over the Ukraine-Europe proposals to end Russia’s invasion, beginning with the quest for US involvement in security guarantees for Kyiv.
I detail a positive sign from this week’s talks in Florida, with Donald Trump accepting a 15-year guarantee and Ukraine and Europe seeking up to 50.
But I also delve into the divided Trump Administration, with Vice President J.D. Vance leading the “anti-Ukraine” faction. I look at the Kremlin’s attempts to manipulate the division, from its demand for all of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine to its unsupport claimed of a Ukrainian attack on Vladimir Putin’s residence.
EA’s David Dunn adds further context in his own interview with the Polish outlet:
