Donald Trump with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (AFP/Getty/File)
Monday’s Coverage: NATO Head — Kyiv Has Right to Strike Inside Russia
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1557 GMT:
The Kremlin is trying to capitalize on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, telling the former US President that Ukraine was involved.
Viktor Medvedchuk, the disgraced Ukrainian politician whom Russia wanted to install as President if it conquered Kyiv in 2022, sent a letter to Donald Trump claiming that “Ukraine’s trace may appear” in Saturday’s shootings at a rally in Pennsylvania.
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Medvedchuk offered no evidence but said Trump is a “personal enemy” of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
He also reinforced Trump’s threat to cut aid to Kyiv, urging the candidate to halt weapons deliveries and to impose sanctions on the “most odious and corrupt representatives” of the Ukrainian authorities.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is “not afraid” of a Donald Trump presidency.
On Monday, Trump was formally chosen by the Republican Convention for November’s general election. Both he and his Vice Presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, have said that they will halt assistance to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion.
In his first Presidential term in 2019, Trump froze military aid as he blackmailed Zelenskiy to spread disinformation about Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Zelenskiy refused. Trump was eventually impeached for abuse of power, but escaped conviction because of a Republican majority in the US Senate.
Trump is a long-time admirer of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and was assisted by the Russians during his 2016 Presidential campaign. Russia is hoping that if Trump returns to the White House, he will help Moscow complete its seizure of four regions in the east and south of Ukraine, as well as bolstering its occupation of Crimea since 2014.
But Zelenskiy said in a press conference on Monday, “As for U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan on ending the war, the general things are clear to me. If Donald Trump becomes President, we will work. I am not afraid of this.”
Air Defense and the 2nd Global Peace Summiot
Zelenskiy reiterated his desire for Russia to join the second Global Peace Summit in November.
The first summit in Switzerland in mid-June issued a declaration of support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, now backed by around 90 countries.
The Kremlin has rejected participation in a second gathering. While rejecting any brokered negotiations with Ukraine, it is pushing the propaganda of “peace talks” in which Russia’s “annexation” of the four Ukrainian regions and Crimea would be confirmed.
Zelenskiy said in his press conference, “I believe that Russian representatives should be at the second summit.”
Speaking about Russia’s ongoing missile and drone strikes, Zelenskiy said Ukraine needs 25 US-made Patriot air defense systems to fully defend its airspace.
At the NATO Summit last week, members committed another four Patriot systems to Kyiv; components for a fifth; and an French-Italian SAMP-T system.
The Netherlands and Denmark also confirmed that the first F-16 fighter jets will arrive in Ukraine by the summer, but Zelenskiy said he wants more warplanes than those pledged. He noted that a six-month delay in military assistance from the US, which finally passed a $60.8 billion aid package in April, meant that Kyiv’s forces had “lost the initiative” on the frontline.
