Two years ago, we had published a similar article on various myths that persist in people's minds about the Russia- Ukraine War and that somehow Ukraine and the West are to be blamed for it. All those myths were busted then and there. This article will look into myths that came up recently, ever since Trump's campaigning for the US elections 2024 started, and how Trump planned to end the current war, largely blaming Zelensky for prolonging the war, colluding with Biden, Kamala and others "Warmongering" Democrats.
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| Credits- ABC News |
LINK To Newscapsule of February 2025
We are three years into the current Russia-Ukraine War. Although the Russo-Ukraine conflict is not three years old, rather it is more than a decade old. The annexation of Crimea, followed by the support for rebellion and separatism in the Donbas region, sparked the Conflict. Although the actual violent events started in 2014, there was a very long debate on whether Ukraine should look eastward or westward. We already concluded that debate two years ago in our previous article.
In January 2025, the new Trump administration took charge, and in February, they officially changed their official policy from siding with the victim, Ukraine, to siding with the aggressor, Russia. The UN votes and subsequent decisions indicate a clear 180-degree policy shift. This was followed by the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House and all the brawling that has happened. Since then, there have been a lot of myths, misconceptions, and personal attacks against Zelensky that are used as an anti-Ukraine stance.
This is the new hybrid option for the alt-right, using Putin and Russian talking points to justify the war in the first place and also trying to end the war on Putin's terms and making it impossible for Ukraine to survive.
A historic anecdote
The 1945 Yalta Conference is regarded as one of the most defining moments in world history, which paved the way for a post-WWII World Order. The three main attendees of the conference were the USA, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the UK, led by Winston Churchill, and the USSR, led by Joseph Stalin. The entire post-WWII World Order was decided by three handfuls of powers. Then, the biggest demand that was put forward by Stalin was the requirement of Russian sphere of influence or the need for buffer states mainly in Eastern Europe. This also paved the way for the partition of Korea, Germany, and Vietnam. Yalta was then criticised for its lack of space given for smallernation-states. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Trump are bypassing the biggest stakeholder in the conflict- Ukraine and trying to subdue the sovereignty and integrity of a smaller country. This is why scholars refer to the present Trump-Putin relations as Yalta 2.0.
Following are the myths and the facts which disprove them
Zelensky/Ukraine doesn't want to end the war and make peace
Well, this is both true and false at the same time. Ukraine wants to end this war as this war is about its existence. Over 20% of the land is still under Russian control. So, if Russia pulls out of Ukraine, this war is over, and there is peace. But no, everyone is quick to blame Ukraine. The reconstruction cost for Ukraine is estimated by the World Bank to be at $500 B and even more as the war might drag along.
At the same time, Ukraine doesn't want to end the war on Putin's terms. Ukraine lost Crimea in 2014, it lost the Donbas region for years, and now it has lost 20% of its land in total. How much more should Ukraine lose? This war should end on favourable terms for Ukraine's existence, sovereignty and future security guarantees. Ukraine, starting from 1992 and even after 2014, has signed multiple agreements, all to not end in any form of peace in the region.
Zelensky met with Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania to campaign for her but not with Donald Trump
Volodymyr Zelensky came to the US for an important visit in September 2024 to the US for multiple reasons. He gave the address to the UN General Assembly for the annual meetings. He then met with then-President Joe Biden and his Vice President, Kamala Harris. All this was part of his official visit to the US. He didn't meet them because they were the candidates but because they were the current administration. He also visited an ammunition plant located in Scranton, in the swing state of Pennsylvania. This was to thank the workers of the plant for helping Ukraine and was not part of election campaigning or canvassing for Democrats. Also, he had met Donald Trump, Harris's rival candidate, as well. The entire meeting was fair to both sides.
Meeting with Trump in 2024 was on ending the war
The early March 2025 meeting that was mentioned earlier was related to a $500 B mineral deal where in Ukraine and the US will jointly extract minerals and where the $500B worth of minerals will be taken by the US as a method of repayment for its aid. Most of these minerals are located in the Russian-controlled areas which were occupied in the war. In turn, Ukraine has no security guarantees, such as NATO membership, peacekeeping troops, or anything else. Rather, the major guarantee which Trump seems to say is that American workers on the ground will be a deterrent or a security guarantee against future Russian aggression. There is no clear idea how Americans could extract minerals from the Russian-controlled areas.
First of all, the total amount of aid that the US has given till now is $175B, and that is nowhere close to $500B. Additionally, Trump made a false claim that Ukraine was given $350 B by the USA, which is again false. Till the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country had a fully functioning US embassy, which was sealed down just before the invasion through active CIA intelligence. Even US diplomats couldn't be a security deterrent to a Russian attack, let alone various US private companies operating on Ukrainian soil for years. Additionally, both the Biden and Trump administrations are clear that the US will not send any troops on the ground. So, if there is a breach of contract, the US may not help. Secondly, why should Ukraine sign a deal to surrender its sovereignty?
This deal was the first towards a peace or settlement in future, but definitely this was not a peace deal or solution to the war or the conflict.
Zelenskyy is a dictator. He is not allowing elections to happen.
Ever since Ukraine faced a full-scale invasion in 2022, the country has been under martial law. As per the Ukrainian constitution, you cannot hold elections when martial law is in effect. Why? Because it is not a safe environment to hold elections when your country is under attack. The last elections happened in 2019, where the populist Volodymyr Zelensky won in a landslide. He won all the oblasts besides Lviv. In 2024, his term should have ended, but due to martial law, there could not be elections. The Ukrainian Parliament recently passed and approved Zelensky's new term.
Zelenskyy is not popular. He just has the support of 4% of people
Trump had also claimed that Zelensky's Approval rating was only 4%, which is false. Zelensky's approval rating has skyrocketed after the skirmish in the Oval Office, from 57% in February to 67% this month. He still continues to remain extremely popular amidst the war. His valour and strength in standing up against Putin in February 2022 have made him more popular than any Ukrainian leader.
Ukraine is not trying diplomacy to end the war
This is a very common argument that Ukraine should give up fighting this war, which is not winnable, it's a stalemate, Ukrainians are dying, Zelensky doesn't care about his own people and much more. Again, a lot of Putin talking points. Firstly, Ukrainians will decide whether they will stop fighting or not. It won't be Europeans or Americans or Russians that will decide how long the Ukraine will fight. If this war can end swiftly, then it's very easy: the Russians should pull out of Ukraine, and the war will end. Why should Ukraine give up a war where the aggressor is trying to subjugate them? The people of Ukraine were subjugated from 1917 to 1991. How long should they continue to be subjugated?
Starting from the Budapest Memorandum in 1992 till 2019, all Ukraine did was use diplomacy and avert war with Russia. Each and every time, Russia chose to violate its promises. In the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in turn for security guarantees from the P5 countries, including Russia and the USA. The Minsk 1 and 2 agreements were signed between Russia and Ukraine in the presence of European leaders after the annexation of Crimea and the instigation of violence in Eastern Ukraine. All the agreements were violated by one leader, Vladimir Putin. What else, a peace deal and diplomacy, should Ukraine have signed with the Russians, notably Putin?
The US doesn't need to be protected by the US. The US has no commitments.
In 1994, in a landmark treaty, three countries- Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan gave up their nuclear weapons in turn for security guarantees from the US, UK and Russia. This treaty is popularly known to us as the Budapest Memorandum. With this, the three countries acceded to the Nuclear-Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The three countries were guaranteed full territorial integrity and sovereignty by the US, UK and Russia. Hence, the duty of protection of Ukraine rests with these three countries. So, Russia, despite being a signatory to the same, has violated the Treaty itself through the annexation of Crimea, followed by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. So, is the US committed to protecting Ukraine? Yes, it is. In 2023, US President Bill Clinton 2023 said that he regrets forcing Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons.
Zelensky is playing with World War III
This is a popular misconception that was prevalent among MAGA and a few strategic circles that the Russia- Ukraine war was leading to a WWIII potentially demanding American and European troops on the ground in Ukraine. Without evidence, they claimed that Russia would attack all the neighbouring European countries with nuclear weapons. It has been three years, the war is continuing, and there is no evidence to show that Russia will use nuclear weapons or will attack its NATO neighbours or even for the fact that there will be a WWIII. This war is led by the direction where the Russians are taking. If the Russians stop fighting and withdraw, this war will end.
Ukraine donated $400 M to the DNC
By US law, there is no way that a foreign country or foreign entity can donate to US political parties. According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Foreign National Contribution Ban of 1966 prevents this. Hence, there is no way that Ukraine could donate to the Democratic Party, the DNC or any of its candidates. There is also no evidence to support the claims.
Half of the Ukrainian aid went to the Democratic Party Coffers
As mentioned before, there is a false belief by Trump and MAGA that $350 B was given to Ukraine by the USA. The numbers show only $175B was given, with the majority of the money staying in the US to American arms manufacturing companies, like the one Zelensky visited in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Only $68 B is the amount allocated to military aid. Then these arms are sent to. There is no way Congressional spending can be diverted to the Democratic Party. Additionally, the lower house of the US Congress, the one that controls the spending of the US government, was in the hands of Republicans from the 2023-25 period. Half of $350 B, which would be $175 B, is a pretty huge amount to be diverted for the funding of a political party.
US has provided the most aid and money, hence, the US is saving Ukraine; Europe is not fighting its own war.
If you take into account the military spending of the war in Ukraine, the US has paid more than Europe. If you combine both financial and military aid, both EU and US have given the comparable amount of $122B. But if you compare the overall aid, then the EU has put the US far behind with a whopping $251.7 B. Non-EU European countries such as the UK, Iceland, Switzerland, and Norway have also contributed significantly. After 2022, both the US and EU had frozen $300B worth of central bank assets in Europe and elsewhere. They are using its interests to pay Ukraine. Hence, Europe is more involved in war more or less equally as USA.
Biden/Democrats wanted to prolong the war to feed the US military Industrial Complex, which Trump is fighting to destroy
It is surely true that the vast majority of Democrats, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, want the war to continue. It is not because they do not want peace or want Ukrainians to suffer because fighting the invasion is the only way to keep Ukrainian hopes alive. When the invasion happened, Biden offered Zelensky a helicopter to escape the Russian invasion, but Zelensky declined the offer, saying that he is not a coward; instead, he will defend his country. This idea is very simple, and this has been what the Biden Administration has been doing for the past three years.
Ofcourse, this scenario is beneficial to the American Military Industrial Complex, but this is not intended by the Democrats at all. Ofcourse, there are overlapping interests here. Both parties in recent times have shown support for the military. Largely, the democrats have been skeptical of the entire Military Industrial Complex and its activities and support for invasions. Not to say that Biden was more or less moderate on this. But all this doesn't prove the fact that there is a secret collusion between the Democrats and the US Military Industrial Complex to prolong this war. The Democratic Party's position has always been to let Ukraine decide how much they want to push back and how long they should fight this war because it's about their independence and existence.
Ukraine and Europe shouldn't be the priority; it should be China
This idea and misconception are very common in strategic circles and those who focus on national security. They believe that China is a more serious concern for the US than Russia because more countries in Asia feel the threat than countries in Europe. Those who feel that the current Russian threat and Ukrainian invasion isn't serious must remember that the Russian invasion and the control of annexed territories is the biggest territorial conquest and annexation since WW2. Currently, both Russia and China are working together since 1996 for a multipolar world. If you have to tackle China, you also have to tackle Russia. A defeat of Russian advancement will also be a big lesson for China not to annex Taiwan in the future as well. Ukraine is a very important country for the Western expansion and cannot be afforded to fall into the hands of the Russians. The people want to join the institutions that reflect the values of democracy, globalism, free trade, human rights and much more.
Conclusion
Myths and Misconceptions will continue. Let us not fall for them and stop falling into the trap of victim blaming and choosing the wrong side here. This conflict should end for sure but not at the cost of Ukraine losing its survival, sovereignty and it's existence. Peace should be proper and a just peace. Let Ukraine decide when they will stop the war and not allow third party whether it be US or EU or Russia to hijack and control the process.
References
https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=0800000280401fbb
https://kyivindependent.com/zelenskys-approval-rating-jumps-after-trump-clash-poll-shows/
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2024/nov/26/instagram-posts/theres-no-evidence-half-of-all-ukrainian-aid-was-l/
https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-us-aid-going-ukraine
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/22/4-myths-about-ukraine-war-00142513
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8v69ndmd5o
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2025/02/26/a-new-yalta-the-fear-of-canada-and-europe-in-the-face-of-a-trump-putin-deal/
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