April 2025: Ukraine Update

Coming up on 3 years of war, the battle in Ukraine continues to rage on. Following a change in American leadership from the Biden to the Trump administration, there has been a complete 360 in foreign policy that often alienates our traditional allies. This is especially apparent in regards to the Russia-Ukrainian War. Rather than wholeheartedly supporting the Ukrainian offensive like the previous administration, President Trump has called for a mineral deal to compensate the United States as well as an agreement towards an end of the war, an agreement that looks increasingly in favor of Russia rather than Ukraine. The series of events has led to a greater divide between the United States and its European allies.

During the second presidential debate, President Trump vowed, “That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president.” Unfortunately, the harsh reality of this promise has become quite apparent following Trump’s failures to bring an end to the conflict. Unable to end the war in Ukraine, Trump has had a contradicting stance on the war—sometimes he supports Ukraine and at other times he supports Russia. Originally, Trump pushed for a deal in which Ukraine would repay the United States for its support with minerals. According to BBC News, Ukraine possesses titanium, graphite, beryllium, and uranium in large margins, as well as a third of all European lithium deposits. The agreement subsequently collapsed following a display of discontent and public humiliation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his visit to the White House. During the almost two-hour-long meeting, President Zelensky was pressed by both President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance regarding him not showing enough respect and thankfulness to the generosity of the American government, especially highlighting that Zelensky had helped the opposition—the Biden and Harris administration. The meeting took an especially wild turn after reporter Brian Glenn scrutinized Zelensky for not wearing a suit to the “Highest office of the United States.” The encounter brought a sour taste to many Americans, as it looked like the President of the United States was bullying a president going through a war and a long-time American ally. 

The situation in Ukraine itself has begun to take a turn in favor of Russia. Following a cutoff of American intelligence to Ukraine for a period of 1–2 weeks, the Russian military took the opportunity to hit the Ukrainian defense as much as possible with multiple drone attacks and far more aggressive offensives. What was hailed as a major success for the Ukrainian military—it's offensive into Kursk—has taken a turn for the worse, as Ukrainian forces have begun to lose ground and were recently pushed out of the largest town in the Kursk region, Sudzha, according to AP News. The threat of losing American support looms over Ukraine as President Trump and his delegation continue to disinclude themselves and all other European nations from their negotiations with Russia. According to BBC, over 20 European nations from NATO and the European Union have combined to form a “Coalition of the willing” in order to continue to push for support to Ukraine and have widely condemned the actions of President Trump. The coalition, according to CNN, plans to set up a peacekeeping force to assist in Ukraine with a significant amount of boots on the ground and both air and naval support. This move to defend their self-interests without regard to the United States goes directly against Trump’s authority and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has stated he won’t agree to a deal with foreign intervention.

Negotiations in Saudi Arabia with the Russian and American delegation continue for a path forward towards a 30-day ceasefire. Vladimir Putin has stated that he would much rather sign. As of most recently, both sides seem willing to agree to a ceasefire regarding attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure. In an Al Jazeera interview with Ukraine’s southern forces spokesperson, he said, “The mud has disappeared … there is more vegetation, and there is less visibility. Therefore, the enemy is trying to improve its tactical position.” This comes after both President Trump and Putin have urged that Ukraine does not have much time left until its military collapses, a statement that Ukraine currently denies.