Zelenskyy, the most perilous moment has arrived

Zelenskyy, the most perilous moment has arrived. This time, the crisis may be even more severe than last March, when he was sent out of the White House by Trump on an empty stomach. One could say that last year’s humiliation was merely a loss of face; today’s crisis, however, is a life-or-death test of his personal safety and political survival. Because Trump’s anger toward him continues to escalate fiercely—even publicly issuing a 'suggestion': Ukraine should change its president. What does that mean? Zelenskyy must step down, and be replaced by someone more compliant with U.S. demands! On October 10, Trump told reporters at the White House: “You know what I suggest? I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal—because he could have made many deals, but for some reason, he never did.” That ‘he’ refers to Zelenskyy. Trump continued his scathing criticism: “We told him: You can do anything you want against Russia—but don’t strike oil refineries, because that would trigger global problems. Yet he wants to cause trouble for the world. He wants to cause trouble for our farmers and ranchers—using diesel, because Russia supplies a large portion of the world’s diesel.” What does that mean? Trump’s meaning is crystal clear. Based on media reports, it boils down roughly to six points: 1. Trump reportedly urged Zelenskyy six times not to attack Russian energy infrastructure—but Zelenskyy refused to comply, continuing fierce strikes he believes target Russia’s greatest current vulnerability. 2. Enraged, Trump branded Zelenskyy a ‘troublemaker’—deliberately undermining U.S. farmers and ranchers, since such attacks prompt Russia to ban diesel exports, sending international diesel prices soaring and provoking widespread public outrage in America—potentially costing Trump the midterm elections. 3. Disregarding Ukrainian sensitivities, Trump launched a surprise move: On October 9, he spoke directly with Putin, who readily agreed to supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and other countries in October, increasing to 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons in December. 4. Unsurprisingly, this further enraged Zelenskyy, who felt betrayed. He called the U.S. action ‘neither fair nor honest,’ and mocked Trump: “You know, this looks like a birthday present for Putin. It looks terrible.” 5. Even more infuriating—and humiliating—for Ukraine was the deception involved: At the U.S.’s invitation, a Ukrainian delegation was negotiating in Florida, fully expecting new sanctions against Russia—only to learn instead that Trump and Putin had secretly struck a diesel-purchase deal. “Our team was merely used as a smokescreen.” 6. What options remain for Ukraine? Accepting the reality means halting strikes on Russian refineries—surrendering a critical strategic lever against Russia. Continuing those strikes, however, means openly defying the U.S., guaranteeing Trump will not let it go unpunished. All Zelenskyy can do is plead for help. I’ve seen reports that he called French President Macron, British Prime Minister Burnham, Finnish President Stubb… repeatedly briefing them on the latest developments and voicing his deep sense of grievance—desperately seeking a way out. The loneliest moment for a president isn’t on the battlefield—it’s on the phone line: dialing one call after another, painfully aware that no one on the other end can save him.

Another cycle: Zelenskyy and the Trump camp’s fierce showdown

Yet this time, Trump didn’t claim Zelenskyy had no cards left—because Zelenskyy’s cards had already shattered Trump’s cherished Russian oil deal. After Trump declared that ‘Ukraine should change its president,’ the White House press corps posted Trump’s video criticizing Zelenskyy on X. Elon Musk—the former ‘Factory Director’—immediately commented beneath the video that same day: “Zelenskyy has gone too far.” When Trump announced his agreement with Putin to ease sanctions on Russia and demanded Ukraine replace its president, the Russian military interpreted Washington’s move as a sign of weakness. From the daytime of October 10 through the night, Russian forces launched an exceptionally intense aerial assault on residential areas in Zaporizhzhia using heavy glide bombs—killing at least 20 civilians, including three children. Zelenskyy stated: “Today, Russia dropped five glide bombs on apartment buildings in Zaporizhzhia—to express its ‘gratitude’ for the U.S. lifting diesel export sanctions. Russia’s choice remains war. It will only consider ending the war when it feels its ability to prolong it is weakening. Unfortunately, the signals Russia received yesterday were exactly the opposite—they implied Russia could simply continue launching attacks. This must be corrected. Russia has mistaken this cowardly indulgence for a license to keep fighting—meaning it can keep dropping bombs on our cities. Every additional dollar Russia earns from exports will, without exception, be spent purchasing and importing critical weapon components, upgrading Shahed drones, producing missiles, and recruiting more mercenaries to the frontlines. We still expect fair U.S. support for our efforts to defend lives—and we expect the U.S. to engage Russia in strong, matching dialogue—not weak dialogue.” Regarding Trump’s enforcer and ‘Factory Director’ Elon Musk, Zelenskyy gave no quarter, responding: “These people cannot find the key to stopping Putin. Stopping Putin is harder than pressuring others; it’s easier to talk about prices and tie them to Ukraine. When everyone worldwide understands that rising prices stem from the Middle East war—prices rise because of the Middle East war, because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, because of these reasons—everyone understands this.” The oil price surge Zelenskyy referenced was, in fact, engineered entirely by Trump. This fierce exchange directly strained bilateral diplomatic relations: Ukraine officially confirmed that its diplomatic delegation—engaged in closed-door peace talks with Trump’s envoy in Miami, Florida—immediately suspended negotiations overnight on October 10 upon learning of the U.S.-Russia unilateral, behind-the-scenes diesel deal, and departed for Kyiv. On the morning of October 11, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha issued an official statement staunchly backing Zelenskyy and directly responding to Trump: “Zelenskyy enjoys the support of the Ukrainian people—and only they hold the right to choose their leader. Foreign commentary can only serve as reverse proof that Zelenskyy is doing precisely what he should.” In Europe, Britain took the most proactive stance, with multiple countries rallying behind Ukraine and supporting Zelenskyy. History has entered yet another cycle. As early as February 2025, this author assessed that Ukraine had entered a phase of resisting both Russia and the U.S.—a reality that remains unchanged to this day.

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