Vladimir Putin is building up disagreement and mistrust between the United States and Ukraine with secret messaging in a bid to force Volodymyr Zelensky out, according to a thinktank
Russia is trying to drive a wedge between the US and Ukraine in a bid to get rid of Volodymyr Zelensky, say experts.
Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader had an ugly spat when they met at the White House last Friday where Trump claimed Zelensky was “disrespectful” and “gambling with WW3”.
Zelensky had warned to be cautious of about a peace deal with Russia as they were not to be trusted but he ended up being ushered from the White House and an anticipated minerals deal also went out of the window.
Now US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War has told of how statements from Russian officials have been attempting to stop a US-Ukraine agreement over exploiting mineral resources.
Russia has enjoyed watching an end to the close relationship between Ukraine and the US that existed during the Biden administration with Trump even going as far as to call Zelensky a “dictator”.
“Recent Russian official statements in response to the proposed US-Ukraine mineral deal indicate that the Kremlin is trying to sabotage the deal through narratives targeting Ukrainian and American audiences,” stated the Institute for the Study of War. It was part of an assessment of Russia’s campaign in the Ukraine war.
It told how Russia had been making claims that the mineral deal wasn’t in the interests of Ukraine, with it being “blackmail” from the US and it would be a “sell out” from Zelensky.
The thinktank continued: “Kremlin officials are also trying to prevent the United States and Ukraine from concluding a mineral deal by making competing offers.” Russia has done this by claiming to have more rare earth materials than Ukraine and saying they can “cooperate with both the US government and US companies in capital investment projects”.
Researchers also pointed out: “Russian state media is delaying coverage of select Kremlin statements in order to exploit changing dynamics in the US-Ukrainian relationship and drive wedges between Ukraine and the United States.”
They added: “Putin is likely attempting to undermine the US-Ukrainian mineral deal in order to prevent deepening US-Ukraine ties in the hope that Russia will be able to destroy or extract significant territorial concessions from Ukraine during future negotiations before Russia’s own wartime economic and force generation issues begin to significantly impede Russia ability to advance on the battlefield in 2025 and beyond.”
And the Institute for the Study of War also said Russia’s tactics have the aim of getting rid of Zelensky and so weaken Ukraine’s position in the conflict.
Referring to the war of words between the US and other Western countries over protecting Ukraine under a possible peace deal, it is believed these have been stirred up by Russia.
The thinktank stated: “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is attempting to exploit discussions between the United States and the EU about the possible deployment of European peacekeeping forces to Ukraine as part of a future peace settlement in order to reinvigorate the Kremlin’s demands for regime change in Ukraine.”
