The difficult choices facing Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is successful a bind.

After past Friday's disastrous gathering successful the Oval Office, it seems thing that helium says goes down good with President Donald Trump. And present the US has suspended assistance to Ukraine, his options are looking progressively thin.

Even a erstwhile adjacent Republican state successful the US, Senator Lindsey Graham, has turned connected him, suggesting "he either needs to resign and nonstop idiosyncratic implicit that we tin bash concern with, oregon helium needs to change".

What benignant of alteration mightiness that beryllium - oregon should helium resign if that's the terms of US support?

This enactment seems Zelensky's astir apt mode retired and Ukraine's premier curate present says Kyiv is unfastened to talks connected signing a minerals woody with the US.

Trump told Zelensky point-blank connected Friday helium was not successful a precise bully position: "You don't person the cards close present - with america you commencement having cards."

Zelensky had been acceptable to sign-off connected the minerals woody with Trump connected Friday earlier helium was told to permission the White House.

That peculiar paper appears to person remained connected the table, and connected Monday nighttime Zelensky's main adjutant Andriy Yermak said helium was moving connected it with Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and the woody was "crucial for some our countries".

But intelligibly the Trump medication is holding retired for more.

Zelensky cannot spend to beryllium humbled into an abject apology. After 3 years of Russian bombardment, Ukrainians are not successful the temper for capitulation.

But helium would person to find a signifier of words capable to appease Trump.

He mightiness besides person to judge a ceasefire connected Trump's terms, adjacent if helium inactive believes bid is "very, precise acold away".

Would the woody mean a resumption of assistance and to what extent? Certainly that's a precedence for Kyiv.

The caput of parliament's overseas affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, says suspending US assistance is unsafe for Ukraine's quality to support its ain civilians.

Falling connected his sword is not thing Zelensky volition oregon tin consider.

Trump has called him some unelected and a dictator, echoing Vladimir Putin's Russian propaganda communicative since the commencement of the war.

Zelensky said connected Sunday nighttime it seemed "a spot undemocratic" for Ukrainians to beryllium told who should beryllium their president.

He is aft each Ukraine's elected leader, and though his word was meant to extremity past year, helium remains president nether martial law, which came into spot precisely due to the fact that of Putin's Russian invasion.

It would beryllium a large effect for Putin, who has sought to regenerate Zelensky since the commencement of the warfare and volition not adjacent speech straight to him "because of his illegitimacy".

But the lone mode Zelensky would see it would beryllium successful speech for Nato rank for Ukraine, and Trump has said helium should hide astir that.

Several Ukrainian figures made wide connected Tuesday they would clasp retired for arsenic agelong arsenic indispensable without US aid, but immoderate reports suggest the US intermission has halted critically important aerial defence missiles and artillery.

Ukrainian MP Fedir Venislavskyi told section media that they could past astir six months, but lone the US could supply them with aerial defence systems and long-range aggregate rocket systems.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says Ukraine is already producing astir a 3rd of the weapons it needs, and its extremity was 50%.

So could Zelensky trust connected European allies instead?

European nations person collectively paid retired substantially much than the US successful assistance to Ukraine, and the caput of the European Union's enforcement Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced plans to beef up Europe's defence capability.

She is proposing up to €800bn successful defence backing - immoderate of which would besides spell to helping Ukraine.

But the EU and UK are adamant that US information guarantees are captious successful the lawsuit of a ceasefire, adjacent if successful Sir Keir Starmer's words "it is close that Europe bash the dense lifting".

Denis Shmyhal himself describes factual US guarantees arsenic "existentially important" for Ukraine and the full continent.