Pressured by Putin and Trump, walls close in on Zelensky

KYIV — Outgunned Ukrainian forces have slowly lost territory to Russian troops over recent weeks. But in the capital Kyiv, the ground is shifting rapidly beneath President Volodymyr Zelensky's feet.

US President Donald Trump, his most powerful yet unpredictable ally, has called into question years of staunch support from Washington by amplifying a string of dangerous and false Kremlin propaganda talking points.

Trump described Zelensky as a corrupt "dictator" and falsely claimed he was no longer Ukraine's legitimate leader, all as Russian troops are clawing forward across the sprawling front line.

"Zelensky is not well prepared to deal with these two challenges at once," said Silvester Nosenko, an international relations lecturer in Kyiv and former interpreter for the Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky must now race to come up with new arguments to convince Trump that Ukraine matters, he added, even as Russian and US officials press ahead with talks to lay the ground for peace.

"But there isn't much time for that," Nosenko told AFP.

Zelensky, a former comedian, won accolades abroad and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he remained in Kyiv in February 2022 to lead his country against the Russian invasion.

In his escalating confrontation with Trump, Zelensky looks ready for another fight.

He called off an official visit to Saudi Arabia this week to avoid any unplanned encounters with US officials who one day earlier broke years of American protocol by sitting down for talks with Russia.

 'Align with Russia?'

On his return to Kyiv, he accused Washington of helping Putin come out of isolation and said Trump was trapped in a Russian "disinformation" bubble.

And in Turkey this week, Zelensky evoked Ukrainian resistance in the first days of the invasion when it had its back to the wall and the Kremlin was demanding they capitulate and surrender.

"If we didn't go for all these ultimatums at the most difficult moment, why is there a feeling that now Ukraine will go for it?" he said.

The head of the Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Mylovanov, said the rhetoric from Washington was "not pleasant" but said Trump may just be seeking leverage over Zelensky.

"It still depends on what Trump really has in mind. Does he want to align with Russia?" he told AFP.

A source in the Ukrainian presidency said there was no panic within Zelensky's office and described the standoff as "tolerable", given that Kyiv had made contingency plans for a combative relationship with Trump.

"The country wants peace, but not at the cost of humiliation," the source told AFP.

Still, the deepening crisis for Zelensky abroad comes as the Ukrainian leader's problems mount at home too.

The 47-year-old who shot to power in 2019 has seen his approval ratings plummet, compared to the beginning of the war when they skyrocketed upwards of 90 percent.