Why Zelensky insists it’s not personal with Trump — even though it is

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Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN on Thursday that there’s “not something personal” driving his latest estrangement from President Donald Trump.

Unfortunately for Ukraine’s wartime president, nothing could be further from the truth.

Everything about Trump’s presidency is personal.

Trump has substituted his own values — the flexing of dominance, the courting of strongmen and the pursuit of cash-spinning deals — for those that guided previous modern presidents as they secured democracy and faced down tyrants.

The result is that Zelensky now confronts one of the most critical — and hard to believe — questions about the war: Does Ukraine’s fate now depend not only on its capacity to fend off Russian aggression but also on the possibility that the US has joined Moscow’s camp ?

Trump makes no secret of his personal distaste for Zelensky, who blamelessly helped precipitate his first impeachment . So it is no surprise that he’s adopted Russia’s demand for Ukraine to get a new president.

Trump’s personal political interests also shape US foreign policy: His diesel deal that could send billions of dollars to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine came as he faced pressure to show midterm voters he can ease high fuel prices. So did his demand that Ukraine sheath one of its most effective tactics: attacks on Russian oil refineries .

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And Trump’s idiosyncratic political personality has long undermined peace efforts. His undimmed desire to please Putin has seen the US pressure Ukraine for concessions rather than Russia. Far from from favoring the invaded party, he’s rewarded the invader.

This pattern has become more concrete in recent weeks.

After rhetorically favoring Russia’s position for nearly two years, Trump has begun taking active steps to reinforce it. He invited Putin to the G20 summit; is considering a great powers meeting with the Russian leader and China’s Xi Jinping to try to end the war in Ukraine’s absence; and declines to send Patriot missiles to repel Russia’s aerial onslaught.

Ukraine says its access to a military version of Elon Musk’s Starlink network is still disrupted — meaning its drones are limited to lower speeds and thus less effective. It’s unclear who in the administration is to blame, though Trump insists it wasn’t him .

The spectacle of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff praising Putin — an accused war criminal — as a “humanitarian” to his face in St. Petersburg this week epitomized the White House’s moral expediency. Trump justified the praise as necessary to extract a US prisoner, Stephen Hubbard , from Russia.

But this accelerating strategy of offering carrot after carrot to the Russian leader has already demonstrably failed to end the war. Putin keeps contradicting Trump’s assurances that he wants peace with murderous missile and drone strikes on Ukraine that recently hit civilian buses and killed a 1-year-old in her stroller. Trump did not condemn such attacks.

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His nation’s relentless pain was etched on Zelensky’s face during his interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. While he went out of his way to avoid a new clash with Trump, he vowed never to compromise his principles or squander Ukraine’s sacrifice. Projecting dignity and resolve, he at times implicitly pleaded for a return to an American foreign policy built on traditional American values.

“We will survive and we will stay strong,” Zelensky said. “We will do everything to bring peace closer. But we will not give (a) chance (to) Putin to win this war.”

Zelensky told Amanpour he had no desire for personal rifts with Trump.

“It’s not about personalities,” he said. “It’s not something personal between me and President Trump.”

‘It’s not something personal between me and President Trump,’ Zelensky tells CNN’s Amanpour

The Ukrainian leader has no option but to try to repair relations with the US president, since he’s the only world leader who could, if he wished, create pressure for a genuine peace process.

But he made clear his dismay at some of Trump’s recent moves, including the diesel deal and waiving of a new US sanctions law targeting Russia. “It will only give much more money for Putin for this war. And that’s why I’m against it,” Zelensky said. He signaled that even if he is rebuked for his rhetoric, with Ukraine’s freedom at stake, “I have to speak about it.”

The deepening quagmire poses two grave questions.

How will this war — which is only becoming more savage — ever end?

And what happens if it doesn’t? The conflict is growing even more dangerous as the Kremlin opens a new front of hybrid warfare against Ukraine’s European allies.

The dire possibilities leave no option but for Ukraine and its European allies to stay engaged, even if they mistrust Trump’s lopsided peace efforts.

Two minor developments this week that offered a scintilla of hope.

Russia agreed after Witkoff’s visit that Russia will join trilateral peace talks with Washington and Kyiv. And Zelensky reiterated a proposal to freeze current frontlines in a bid to spur a ceasefire and diplomacy.

These are hardly breakthroughs. The technical talks Russia has agreed to attend won’t take place until mid-November — so weeks of killing lie ahead. At best they will lead to an extended diplomatic process: Russia traditionally fights while it talks.

And Zelensky has in the past offered multiple formulations for ceasefires and diplomatic openings and initiatives to end the war, all of which Putin has ignored. There is no indication that Ukraine’s latest inducements will tempt him.

Still, hopes that current tensions between Ukraine and the US will not thwart some diplomacy are bolstered by the way previous blowups between Zelensky and Trump have ebbed over time, amid feverish European diplomacy to close the gaps. And US officials said talks in Norway with Zelensky and European partners this week had made progress and created momentum for the trilateral talks.

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The general formula for any peace deal has been clear for years. It would entail a truce that would likely see Russia keep the spoils of its land grabs; US and/or European security guarantees for Kyiv; plans for a vast post-war reconstruction program for Ukraine; and a framework regarding NATO-Russian relations in Europe.

But Putin has shown no sign he’ll accept anything less than his maximal demands. And why would he, when Trump keeps offering him concessions?

Russia is seeking to negotiate the ceding of strategic territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region that its troops failed to claim on the battlefield, despite horrendous casualties. Zelensky told CNN he could never accept such terms because “a lot of people died defending this land, defending our independence, our country.”

While Trump keeps insisting Putin wants a deal, Zelensky arguably has a more realistic view of his adversary’s aspirations. “Putin is playing, you know, he’s a player,” he said. “It’s a pity because he plays with the lives of other people.” He said Putin’s goal is to “break us, destroy us, kill us.”

But Ukraine’s living hell, and the growing possibility that the war could burst its borders mean there’s no option but to once again test Putin’s intent.

That means dealing with Trump’s temperament, grievances and personal goals.

Zelensky cannot let personalities get in the way.

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弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基周四告诉 CNN，他与唐纳德·特朗普总统的最新疏远“并非出于个人恩怨”。

对乌克兰战时总统来说，不幸的是，事实远非如此。

特朗普总统任期内的一切都与个人利益有关。

特朗普用自己的价值观——炫耀权力、拉拢强人、追求赚钱的交易——取代了以往现代总统在维护民主和对抗暴君时所秉持的价值观。

结果是，泽连斯基现在面临着关于这场战争最关键——也是最难以置信——的问题之一：乌克兰的命运现在是否不仅取决于它抵御俄罗斯侵略的能力，还取决于美国是否已经加入莫斯科阵营？

特朗普毫不掩饰他对泽连斯基的个人厌恶，泽连斯基曾无辜地促成了他的第一次弹劾。因此，他接受俄罗斯要求乌克兰更换总统的提议也就不足为奇了。

特朗普的个人政治利益也影响着美国的外交政策：他与俄罗斯达成的柴油协议可能向俄罗斯总统普京的战争机器输送数十亿美元，而此时他正面临着向中期选举选民证明自己能够缓解高油价的压力。同样，他要求乌克兰停止其最有效的战术之一——袭击俄罗斯炼油厂。

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特朗普特立独行的政治个性长期以来一直破坏和平努力。他一心想讨好普京，导致美国向乌克兰施压要求让步，而不是向俄罗斯施压。他非但没有偏袒被侵略方，反而奖励了侵略者。

最近几周，这种模式变得更加具体。

在近两年来一直公开支持俄罗斯的立场之后，特朗普开始采取实际行动来强化这种立场。他邀请普京参加二十国集团峰会；正在考虑在乌克兰缺席的情况下，与普京和中国国家主席习近平举行大国会议，试图结束战争；并且拒绝向乌克兰派遣“爱国者”导弹以抵御俄罗斯的空中袭击。

乌克兰方面表示，其对埃隆·马斯克星链网络军用版的接入仍然中断，这意味着其无人机的飞行速度受到限制，因此作战效能降低。目前尚不清楚政府内部是谁应为此负责，但特朗普坚称与他无关。

本周，特朗普特使史蒂夫·威特科夫在圣彼得堡当面称赞普京——一位被指控的战争罪犯——是“人道主义者”，这一幕充分体现了白宫的道德权宜之计。特朗普辩称，此举是为了从俄罗斯营救美国战俘斯蒂芬·哈伯德。

但这种不断向俄罗斯领导人抛出诱饵的策略，显然已经未能结束战争。普京不断用致命的导弹和无人机袭击乌克兰，与特朗普关于和平的保证背道而驰。最近的袭击击中了民用巴士，导致一名坐在婴儿车里的1岁女童丧生。特朗普并未谴责这些袭击。

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在接受CNN记者克里斯蒂安·阿曼普尔采访时，泽连斯基脸上写满了乌克兰人民遭受的持续苦难。尽管他竭力避免与特朗普再次发生冲突，但他誓言绝不妥协自己的原则，也绝不辜负乌克兰人民的牺牲。他展现出尊严和决心，有时甚至含蓄地呼吁美国回归以传统价值观为基础的外交政策。

泽连斯基说：“我们会挺过去，我们会保持强大。我们会尽一切努力让和平早日到来。但我们绝不会给普京赢得这场战争的机会。”

泽连斯基告诉阿曼普尔，他不想与特朗普发生私人恩怨。

“这与个人恩怨无关，”他说。“这并非我和特朗普总统之间的私人恩怨。”

泽连斯基告诉CNN的阿曼普尔：“这并非我和特朗普总统之间的私人恩怨。”

乌克兰领导人别无选择，只能努力修复与美国总统的关系，因为他是唯一一位如果愿意的话，能够对真正的和平进程施加压力的世界领导人。

但他明确表达了对特朗普近期一些举措的失望，包括柴油交易和豁免一项针对俄罗斯的新美国制裁法案。“这只会让普京获得更多资金用于这场战争。这就是我反对的原因，”泽连斯基说。他表示，即使他的言论会招致批评，但事关乌克兰的自由，“我必须发声”。

日益加深的泥潭提出了两个严峻的问题。

这场愈演愈烈的战争究竟何时才能结束？

如果情况没有好转会怎样？随着克里姆林宫对乌克兰的欧洲盟友开辟混合战争的新战线，冲突正变得越来越危险。

严峻的形势迫使乌克兰及其欧洲盟友别无选择，只能继续参与其中，即使他们不信任特朗普片面的和平努力。

本周两项小进展带来了一线希望。

维特科夫访问后，俄罗斯同意加入华盛顿和基辅之间的三方和平谈判。泽连斯基重申了冻结现有战线的提议，以期促成停火和外交斡旋。

这些算不上什么突破。俄罗斯同意参加的技术会谈要到11月中旬才会举行——这意味着未来几周还将持续杀戮。最好的结果也只是促成一个漫长的外交进程：俄罗斯历来都是边打边谈。

泽连斯基过去曾多次提出停火方案、开启外交对话以及提出结束战争的倡议，但普京均置之不理。目前没有任何迹象表明乌克兰最新的诱因会动摇他的决心。

尽管如此，鉴于泽连斯基和特朗普此前的冲突最终都在欧洲积极斡旋下逐渐平息，人们仍然抱有希望，认为当前乌克兰和美国之间的紧张关系不会阻碍外交努力。美国官员表示，本周在挪威与泽连斯基及欧洲伙伴举行的会谈取得了进展，并为三方会谈注入了动力。

乔纳森·纳克斯特兰德/法新社/盖蒂图片社

多年来，任何和平协议的一般模式都很明确。它将包括一项停火协议（俄罗斯可能因此保留其侵占领土的战利品）；美国和/或欧洲对基辅的安全保障；一项针对乌克兰的大规模战后重建计划；以及一个关于北约与俄罗斯在欧洲关系的框架。

但普京丝毫没有表现出会接受低于其最高要求的任何条件。而特朗普不断向他做出让步，他又何必妥协呢？

俄罗斯正寻求通过谈判，让乌克兰割让其军队在战场上未能占领的东部顿巴斯地区的战略要地，尽管俄罗斯军队伤亡惨重。泽连斯基告诉CNN，他绝不会接受这样的条件，因为“很多人为了保卫这片土地、保卫我们的独立和我们的国家而牺牲”。

尽管特朗普一直坚称普京想要达成协议，但泽连斯基对这位对手的意图却有着更为现实的看法。“你知道，普京是个老谋深算的玩家，”他说，“这很可悲，因为他拿别人的生命开玩笑。”他还说，普京的目标是“摧毁我们，消灭我们，杀死我们”。

但乌克兰的处境如同人间地狱，而且战争有可能蔓延到乌克兰境内，这意味着我们别无选择，只能再次试探普京的意图。

这意味着要应对特朗普的脾气、不满情绪和个人目标。

泽连斯基不能让个人恩怨妨碍他的工作。