Opinion

Two against one: Why Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy clashed

Opinion

2 March 2025, 05:34 PM

Vitaly Sych

NV Editor-in-Chief

I watched the video multiple times, trying to understand what exactly triggered J.D. Vance, Donald Trump, and whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had somehow provoked them.

But no, that wasn’t it. They exploited their numerical and linguistic advantage, using their native English fluency to publicly humiliate and corner him. It was two against one, speaking twice as fast as he could. More importantly, they did this deliberately and in public—because if they had genuinely sought an understanding, this conversation would have been held behind closed doors. And even if it had been public, their tone would have been far more balanced if they had actually intended to reach an agreement.

Zelenskyy explained that Ukraine had been trying to negotiate with Russia since 2014, yet Putin repeatedly violated agreements. I doubt Vance even knows this—or if he does, I doubt he cares. Then, Trump jumped in with a correction, asking when exactly Putin invaded Crimea and Donbas, because his only concern was whether it happened during his presidency—everything else was irrelevant to him.

Zelenskyy, left with whatever emotions and English he had at that moment, turned to Vance and asked: What kind of diplomacy is this, and who exactly should Ukraine negotiate with? It came across as confrontational—but that’s exactly what Vance and then Trump were waiting for.

Then came the most cynical claim from Vance—that Ukraine has problems with mobilization. Seriously? After three years of fighting a much larger country, Ukraine is, of course, struggling with mobilization. Trump eagerly joined in, using his status as both the host and a native English speaker to pile on Zelenskyy over other issues.

And then there was Vance’s absurd remark about “propaganda tours”—that one really got to me. If he really wants to talk about propaganda, he should come here and see what reality looks like. Clearly, he has no respect for the sacrifices and immense struggle Ukrainians have endured for three years.

This is beneath America

We know our own problems. But this is not how allies behave—especially not in public.

What we witnessed was nothing short of a back-alley ambush, an ugly attempt to corner and humiliate the president of a country at war, exploiting every possible weakness in the process.

It was a cheap, disgraceful display—shifting blame onto Ukrainians, making petty accusations, and playing to the cameras for political gain.

Yes, Ukraine must negotiate with the Trump administration on various issues. But at this point, it looks like we are dealing with more than just opportunists—they are exposing their true colors. They won’t admit it publicly—because that would go against American values—but the reality is evident.

I believe this will come back to haunt both Vance and Trump. One thing is debating whether or not to fund Ukraine. But it’s an entirely different matter to align with Russia, in a country where anti-Russian sentiment is deeply rooted in its national identity.

That’s their problem.

As for us, we will continue to fight and find a way forward. We’ve been doing this for three years now. Whether we find those paths with the Americans or with someone else, we will keep going.

But conversations like this one? They are beneath America. And beneath us.

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