During the election campaign, Donald Trump boasted 53 times that he would end the war in Ukraine before taking office, and within 24 hours at the latest. Almost a year after his return to office, the war started by Russia is still ongoing. And it must be said, although it sounds inhumane: fortunately. Because what Trump had and has in mind is the surrender of Ukraine. And this would only be a prelude to a larger war.
Since his first disastrous visit to the White House, Zelensky has learned a lesson skillfully deal with Trump's whims and blackmail attemptsmaking concessions that put the blame back on the American administration. He showed this, for example, when he responded to Washington's criticism that no elections had been held in Ukraine since 2019 with a promise to hold elections as soon as the ceasefire came into force.
Merz, together with his European partners from the coalition of the willing, led by Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Tusk, supported the Ukrainians, including by agreeing to the EU granting a loan of EUR 90 billion (PLN 380 billion) to Ukraine. Before the talks between Zelensky and Trump, the Europeans held telephone conversations with the Ukrainian, thanks to which Trump knew that the Ukrainian president also spoke on behalf of the most important US allies.
This should give food for thought to those who say that Europe does not matter.
A free hand for Russia
Europeans – as well as Britons and Canadians – are united in the knowledge that Trump is getting things done geopolitics of zones of influence. The US president wants to have unlimited control over the Western Hemisphere, from Greenland through Canada and Venezuela to Antarctica. In return he is willing to give the Sino-Russian bloc largely a free hand in the former USSR sphere of influence.
The US president made this clear when, during a press conference in Florida, he emphasized Vladimir Putin's desire to “see Ukraine succeed as soon as…”. Trump paused, but it's clear what he meant: as soon as Ukraine ceases to be a self-determining state.
Time is not in favor of Trump and Putin. Trump's MAGA movement [Make America Great Again, Uczyńmy Amerykę znów wielką] is falling apart, his support has fallen to an all-time low. The US president cannot control inflation, and the November congressional elections may prove disastrous for his party.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in Florida, December 28, 2025.JIM WATSON / AFP
The US loses, Europe gains
In turn, Putin was consumed by the war over a million soldiers killed and wounded. The era of cheap money and huge investments in the war economy is over. Oil prices are falling. The fact that Putin is trying to break the morale of Ukrainians using air terror is an expression of military desperation.
Europeans, on the other hand, are getting better at it becoming independent from Russian energytighten military cooperation and spend more money on combat readiness. The fact that Social Democratic Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is the most popular politician in Germany speaks for itself. It was Donald Trump who pressured Europeans to do this in the first place. Now he has to live with the consequences the first signs of awareness of political power.
On Sunday, December 28, Volodymyr Zelensky met with Donald Trump in Florida. — We talked about all aspects of the peace framework. 90 percent We agreed on a 20-point peace plan, Zelensky said later. “We're getting close to the end, and I think we're very close to an agreement,” Trump said.
During his speech, Trump repeatedly said that Putin wants peace. The US president also said that the Russian was cooperating “greatly” with Ukraine to launch the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, and praised the Russian president for “not bombing” the plant.
Before meeting with Zelensky, Trump spoke with Putin by phone.
