Geopolitics Review Extra - 10th April 2025
The Donald Diaries: Other Issues In Ukraine And Europe’s Involvement
Contents
Introduction
Other Issues: Ukraine Elections
Russia: Gaining Ground Or Going Nowhere
The EU Involvement
Concluding Remarks
Bitesize Edition
Trump’s pursuit of a ceasefire is taking much of the limelight in the current media. Other issues continue to exist in the background.
One issue is Ukrainian politics. Zelenskyy has come under attack from Trump and Putin in recent months. But Ukraine is under martial law, and elections not being held is constitutional. Hence, will anything happen here, or is this noise being created for nothing?
We also have the topic of Russian momentum. In negotiations, Russia is being painted as a powerful player, in part because Trump is appeasing them in pursuit of a ceasefire. It’s worth considering the reality of Russia’s position. At the current pace of their advances, it would take them 80 years to take the entirety of Ukraine. The United States’ removing their involvement in Ukraine will see shifts in this momentum, but will there be extensive changes, or will this protracted stalemate continue?
Introduction
In the last few weeks, I have been discussing the war in Ukraine. Specifically, I dived into the current situation on the ground in Ukraine and what had been done in pursuit of a ceasefire. On Monday, I dived into potential futures that could be facing Ukraine, with Trump attempting to gain brownie points for peace in the war, even if it weakens the Ukrainians.
Today, I’ll dive into some other issues in Ukraine, specifically the calls by some for Ukrainian elections and the momentum Russia has on the battlefield. Is this momentum substantial, or is it exaggerated? Let’s dive in.
Other Issues: Ukraine Elections and Russian Momentum
A big talking point in the last few months has been the lack of Ukrainian elections. Trump has been making his usual noise about this, stating that Zelenskyy is in the wrong for not holding elections, even if Ukraine is under martial law and not holding elections is constitutional. Putin, in the last week, also recommended that a UN-led government could take over Ukraine moving forward, which did see some Trump critique and support for Zelenskyy. He then backtracked on this statement the following day, once again attacking Zelenskyy for not holding elections. Trump throws anything and everything at the wall until something sticks. What usually happens is that somebody else takes action, and Trump can then respond with his usual batch of chaos theory.
Regardless of the opinions of Trump and Putin, the reality is that Zelenskyy can’t be removed from office. From a moral perspective, it’s clear that he has the betterment of Ukrainians at the centre of his ideas for what a post-war Ukraine should look like. Without Zelenskyy, would there be a chance that a Russian puppet government ensures Ukraine loses this war even more than it likely already will? Of course, Zelenskyy can’t be in command forever, and holding free and fair elections should be a defining principle of any nation that describes itself as a democracy. But it should be guaranteed that a future election would be free and fair from outside interference. In this current fragile state of play in Ukraine, this couldn’t be guaranteed.
However, underlying internal tensions in Ukrainian politics can’t be ignored. Zelenskyy’s former four-star general and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhny, is rising in popularity amongst the Ukrainian public. He was fired by Zelenskyy in early 2024. He is currently in the role of Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, but interest remains in his future political ambitions.
On the other side of this conflict, Russian momentum is discussed often. Are they advancing at a rapid rate, or is their momentum overstated?
Russia: Gaining Ground Or Going Nowhere?
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