The US has just sabotaged Ukraine’s bargaining power

The Trump administration has just sliced away key negotiating options for Ukraine, giving the invading Russians a catastrophic advantage even before any so-called peace talks can begin.

- SAM KILEY

Now, in any future negotiations, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky's position will be weaker.

Yesterday, Ukraine’s military capacity was immediately undermined in the medium term by Pete Hegseth telling his fellow Nato defence ministers that “Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine”. Shortly after Hesgeth’s press conference, President Donald Trump said he had spoken to the Russian president Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations to end the war and would “inform” Zelensky about the conversation.

The US has provided about $120bn to Ukraine, about half of that military aid, and the rest of Nato has matched that military spend too. But in ruling out any future funding increase from the US for Ukraine, Hegseth is sending a signal to the Kremlin that the US is backing away.

Zelensky has argued that any future settlement with Russia, which currently controls about 22 per cent of his country, would depend on 150,000-200,000 foreign troops as a guarantee against another invasion. He recently insisted that this could only be achieved with American involvement. Hegseth has ruled that out.