Oleh Bilokolos: Trump Holds All Cards
7- 23.12.2024, 22:26
- 23,056
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have dealt a serious blow to Putin's image.
What kind of year was it for Ukraine and the world? What awaits us in 2025? Charter97.org sums up the year with the director of the Center for National Resilience Studies in Kyiv, former adviser to the Ukrainian embassy in Canada and Kenya Oleh Bilokolos:
— This year was not easy for Ukraine, to put it mildly. The war continues, and with it these barbaric attacks continue, leading to destruction and death of civilians. Right now we are talking to you, and another air raid alarm is sounding in Kyiv.
— What achievements of Ukraine on the diplomatic and military front would you note as the most significant?
— From the point of view of foreign policy, the Kursk operation was successful. It inspired many. Not only in Ukraine, but also our friends abroad. The operation continues, but it can already be said that a serious blow has been dealt to Putin's image.
If we talk about military aspects, I assumed that this would be the year of the drone war, and so it turned out. Ukraine purposefully carried out strikes, I want to emphasize that they were aimed specifically at the military infrastructure that supported the Russian military machine.
As for successes in foreign policy, this is always difficult to assess. When guns speak, diplomats, as a rule, speak in an undertone. Today, our military at the front are the main diplomats of Ukraine.
We actively continued working with our allies to attract additional financial resources and military aid. Although, of course, we did not receive aid in the volume and at the speed that we would have liked. Nevertheless, these are facts that cannot be ignored.
It is also worth noting a number of successful activities of our military intelligence. They carried out successful operations on the territory of Russia, which had a noticeable external resonance, with a plus sign for Ukraine.
— Who would you call the main hero of the outgoing year?
— I would like to mention here the elected President of the United States Donald Trump. Let's see with what sign he will go down in history, but he won the elections, which were tense for both Democrats and Republicans. Trump now holds all the cards, he heads the executive branch.
Both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans, they will mainly form the budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Therefore, Trump has a wide field for maneuver in both foreign and domestic policy. I do not know to what extent one can call him heroic, but he is definitely the person of the year.
— Many expect 2025 to be the year that will bring the end of the war. What key factors do you think can influence the outcome of the war and the stabilization of the situation in the region?
— You see, it is difficult to say here yet. As far as I can see from the statements of Trump and his close advisers, the administration does not yet have a final plan.
I paid attention to the words of Mr. Keith Kellogg (US Special Representative for Ukraine — edit.), who said that next year, in January, he will visit Kyiv with a mission. That is, they need to collect as much information as possible, hear what the Ukrainian side thinks in order to prepare some kind of plan. Only after that will they be able to offer the US President a specific plan with specific steps and time frames. So far, the process looks exactly like this.
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