Russia-Ukraine war rages on 100 days after Trump’s promise to end it: Putin gives no indication of saying yes to White House unlike EU and Zelenskyy
Over a hundred days after US President Donald Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the war rages on with no resolution in sight. While the United States and Ukraine have entered a much-awaited minerals deal, people on the Russian and Ukrainian sides continue to die.
On Thursday, Moscow-appointed Governor Vladimir Saldo said that a Ukrainian drone strike killed 7 citizens while injuring 20 at a busy market in Oleshky town in the Kherson region. Russia condemned the attack as a war crime, alleging that among those targeted were rescuers.
“At the time of the attack, there were many people in the market. After the first wave of strikes, Ukraine sent further drones to “finish off” any survivors,” Saldo wrote on Telegram.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike killed two people in the Black Sea port city of Odesa. This attack came just hours after the US-Ukraine minerals deal was locked, granting the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. In this attack, 15 people were reported injured.
Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said that the barrage struck apartment buildings, private homes, a supermarket and a school. As per Kharkiv city’s Mayor Ihor Therekov, a drone struck and ignited fire at a petrol station.
In response to the Russian strikes, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said that Russia has eluded the US’s proposal of an unconditional and complete ceasefire for over 50 days.
“There were also our proposals — at the very least, to refrain from striking civilian infrastructure and to establish lasting silence in the sky, at sea, and on land. Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults,” Zelensky said.
US-Ukraine mineral deal: Economic interests take precedence amidst the bloodshed
On Wednesday, Ukraine and the United States signed the minerals deal under which the US will gain access to the war-torn nation’s rare earth deposits, including oil and gas. The deal comes days after Trump publicly rebuked Zelensky during the latter’s US visit. Initially, Trump sought $500 billion in compensation for the massive military and financial aid extended to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden, since February 2022. This amount is reported to be four times higher than the actual amount. Unsurprisingly, Zelensky rejected this deal, arguing it would push ten generations of Ukraine into paying this amount off.
After assuming office, Trump has significantly reduced aid to Ukraine, thus compelling the war-torn country to ink a deal to secure long-term US investment.
Interestingly, the Trump administration has been pushing for a swift end to the war, possibly at the cost of some of Ukraine’s long-term strategic goals, most importantly, NATO membership. Not to forget, Ukraine’s desperate attempts at joining NATO were one of the major reasons behind the escalation of tensions with Russia. This remains a bone of contention with Russia emphasising that it cannot allow Ukraine to join NATO since this poses a direct threat to Russia’s sovereignty.
The US-Ukraine mineral deal established a Reconstruction Investment Fund to jointly develop Ukraine’s critical minerals, including titanium, lithium and graphite. The revenues would be split 50-50 between the two signatories.
Pertinently, the deal finalised after tense negotiations does not include any explicit US security guarantee, even though this was Ukraine’s major concern. This joint fund, overseen by the US Treasury and Ukraine’s Department of Finance and Economy, is meant to attract global investment for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
While the US gains access to minerals crucial for defence and technology to curb reliance on China, Ukraine benefits from securing an economic partnership and possible post-war growth.
The deal’s impact on peace, however, remains uncertain with a change in Trump’s tune. While initially it seemed like Moscow and Washington were ditching the continued tradition of never agreeing on anything, to finding some common ground, last week, President Trump threatened to impose fresh sanctions against Russia.
Trump had even raised questions over his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin’s, willingness to end the war for good. After meeting Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral in the Vatican, Donald Trump also slammed Russia for its missile strikes in Ukraine.
In a post shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, as he was heading back to the US from Rome, Trump hinted at imposing sanctions against Moscow after Russia’s latest missile attack on Ukraine and questioned whether Putin wants to stop the war. Donald Trump even criticised former US President Barack Obama and suggested that he “made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired.
Interestingly, Trump has also backtracked from his statement in which he committed to bringing the Ukraine-Russia war ongoing for the last three years to an end.
“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point. Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that [the war] will be ended,” Trump said.
US State Secretary Marco Rubio who earlier this year had a very positive meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, also changed tunes as he said, “There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”
On one hand, Ukraine and the US have signed a lucrative deal, although the lack of security guarantees would disappoint Ukraine; on the other, the attacks by Russia and Ukraine against each other continue to claim lives. While the mineral deal gives the US a financial stake, the deal touted as an agreement that would open doors to peace does not seem to serve that purpose. Neither Ukraine nor Russia have deterred from attacking each other, indicating that there is hardly any possibility of immediate de-escalation, let alone an end to the war.
Additionally, Trump’s and largely USA’s positioning that they hold the key to the war and the war can linger or come to an end at their behest seems hollow too. Unlike Ukraine, which is completely dependent upon military and financial aid from the USA and European nations, Russia is in no mood to take orders from the White House.
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