Abdelrahman
President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed serious concerns about Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russian aggression without the backing of the United States, as revealed in a segment of an NBC interview aired on Friday night. During this discussion on “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker”, Zelensky remarked, “It will likely be incredibly challenging. While there is always a possibility in difficult circumstances, the likelihood of our survival is minimal without U.S. support.”
The complete interview is scheduled to air on Sunday, according to NBC reports.
Zelensky’s remarks coincided with the inaugural day of the Munich Security Conference, where numerous anxious European diplomats had convened. Attendees anticipated a speech from Vice President JD Vance regarding President Trump’s proposed strategies for peace talks to resolve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Contrary to expectations, Vance only briefly mentioned Ukraine and failed to provide a clear outline for peace negotiations or a coherent vision for Europe’s future following this unprecedented conflict on the continent in nearly eight decades. Instead, he urged European nations to cease isolating their far-right movements, asserting that the suppression of free speech posed the most significant security threat.
Earlier in the week, Pete Hegseth, a member of Trump’s defense team, unsettled both Kyiv and Ukraine’s allies by stating during a meeting with NATO and Ukrainian defense ministers in Brussels that the U.S. does not endorse Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO as part of a peace settlement. He dismissed the prospect of restoring Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, prior to the annexation of Crimea by Russia, as “unrealistic.”
Repeatedly, Trump has suggested leveraging U.S. military assistance in exchange for Ukraine’s vital mineral resources. Just last month, he told Fox News that he sought “the equivalent of around $500 billion in rare earth elements,” essential for advanced technology products, and claimed that Ukraine had essentially consented to this arrangement.
