By Frank Wright
A meeting which began over a mineral deal and peace in Ukraine has developed into a historic shift in world politics.
“You don’t hold the cards,” President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on February 28.
When Zelensky retorted that he was “not playing,” Trump rebuked him. “Yes. Yes you are. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
In an exchange which reframed the Ukraine war as a reckless gambit towards nuclear Armageddon, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance signaled an epochal shift away from the global consensus of the last forty years – and towards the interests of peace and of the American people.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump continued, explaining to Zelensky that “…what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
Friday’s White House meeting between the unelected leader of Ukraine is one of several recent visits and follows that of the U.K.’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Zelensky had nominally arrived to finalize a deal for U.S. rights over Ukrainian minerals, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The deal was seen as a means of the U.S. recovering some of the claimed 350 billion dollars Trump has said that America has supplied to Ukraine in financial and military aid since February 2022.
Instead, Zelensky left immediately after being “kicked out” of the White House, the deal unsigned, and with his planned lunch reportedly “given to the interns” by Trump. Fox News reported White House insiders saying Zelensky was “begging to stay,” as a planned joint press conference was canceled.
Zelensky was congratulated on his “dignity” following the meeting, by the unelected European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Immediate UK summit, ‘boots on the ground?’
Having refused to apologize, Zelensky flew to London for a pre-planned March 1 “summit” of pro-war leaders attended by NATO chief Mark Rutte, EU Chief Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the leaders of France, Italy and Poland.
The summit followed a “bizarre” flurry of identical social media posts sent by pro-war European leaders in support of Zelensky.
Statements were made following the meeting which suggested U.K. and EU support for Ukraine could continue in the absence of U.S. involvement – with the U.K. prime minister announcing afterwards that he is “ready to put boots on the ground” in Ukraine.
Starmer went on to announce a further $2.2 billion in “loans” to Ukraine to purchase missiles.
EU plan falls apart
The London Summit claimed to be making progress towards an EU-led ceasefire but concluded with no agreements in place.
Following the claim by France’s Macron that a truce in Ukraine had been proposed, the U.K. Armed Forces minister told Times Radio Monday morning that “No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like.”
Zelensky told U.K. reporters he was now “ready to sign” the minerals deal agreed with Donald Trump.
A further meeting has been scheduled. Following the remarks of the U.K’s Starmer, the leaders of France and Poland announced that neither nation would be sending troops to Ukraine – despite the assurances given by Starmer that a EU and U.K. “coalition of the willing” would do so.
The U.K.’s Ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, appeared to undermine Starmer’s position, calling for all leaders to give “unequivocal backing” of Trump’s initiative.
As the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph reported that Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Putin is being “fast tracked,” news also emerged that Trump is “discussing cutting all military aid to Ukraine,” with the Russians and Hungarians saying “Zelensky does not want peace.”
So severe is the crisis for Zelensky that a former staunch supporter of the proxy war, Senator Lindsey Graham, called for his resignation.
NATO without the US
The U.S. government is pursuing negotiations with the Russians independently of the European and British leadership, whose own summit quietly concluded that any future settlement in Ukraine ultimately relies on the U.S. to guarantee it.
News now emerges that the U.S. is seeking to reopen the NordStream pipelines in direct talks with the Russians.
Missiles fired from Ukraine into Russia rely on U.S.-led satellite intelligence and guidance. There is no realistic chance of unilateral military action in Ukraine by Europe’s depleted and scaled back militaries – a position underlined by EU statements calling for comprehensive rebuilding both of European defence and the industry required to restore it to realistic levels.
The picture emerging is one of a stark reality. There is no NATO absent U.S. commitment, and neither the U.K. nor the EU can act independently of the U.S. to confront a major power.
This too was foreshadowed on February 28, when Donald Trump asked Keir Starmer, “Could you take on Russia by yourselves?”
It is a serious question with an obvious answer, and it was followed by laughter.
Reality has bitten hard this weekend, showing how the U.S. leadership has not merely changed the color of the neckties worn in government, but is pursuing an historic break with decades of U.S. grand strategy.
British commentator Matt Goodwin said that the meeting signified a far wider geopolitical realignment, suggesting the U.K. and European leadership at the London summit had failed to recognize this historic shift.
U.K. and European leaders may continue to generate dramatic headlines with bold talk and unrealistic initiatives, but this too is beginning to resemble an attempt to win a media war whilst the battle in reality is lost to them.
The Trump White House sees the war in Ukraine is seen as a needless waste of human life and money which “should never have happened.” Hungarian President Viktor Orbán also spoke out strongly in favor of peace, adding Ukraine was now in a “dire situation.”
U.S. negotiators now “talk normally” with those of the Russians, after a Biden administration which refused to speak to them at all for several years.
With Trump set to address Congress Tuesday night, an era-defining announcement may be on the cards.
Those cards are clearly held by the United States and no other nation in its sphere of influence. How will those cards be played? An earlier post by Trump on his Truth Social strongly suggests the U.S. will seek to establish and normalize trade with Russia regardless of the liberal-globalist regimes in Europe – all of whose leadership have invested their political fortunes in the war in Ukraine.
“We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe!” wrote Trump.
This is a direct hit on the British and European governments whose pursuit of the global consensus has led their nations into chaos. Trump is reshaping the world around the recognition of this reality, and of the ruin it has caused. With Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk already suggesting an audit of all funding to Ukraine, the card of the severe corruption funded by this war may be played soon.
This moment comes alongside U.S. warnings that the enemy is not outside but within Europe, as its governments suppress free speech and refuse to respect the results of elections. A further scandal looms over how Ukrainian aid was spent, and where the weapons themselves went – with Tucker Carlson and even CBS news reporting that between one and “half” of all military equipment supplied has vanished on to the black market in Ukraine. How far were these pro-war, pro-Zelensky leaders invested in a nation described in the 2021 Pandora Papers as one of the most corrupt in the world?
There are now two visions of the future of the West, and only one has a winning hand. Tomorrow night, perhaps we shall see another Trump card thrown down. 
You can watch all 46 minutes of the February 28 meeting between Trump, Vance and Zelensky here.
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