Stunningly, Zelensky Offers To Resign

This story broke around noon PT, and it’s mind boggling on its face. Volodomyr Zelensky has offered to resign as the president of Ukraine, in exchange for either peace between Russia and Ukraine or Ukrainian admission to NATO. I must say that my kneejerk reaction is that he’s not going to get either, and moreover that he knows it. So what good is this gambit? Ukrainian-American commentator Adam Parmenenko kicks in his two cents. 

“If it is peace for Ukraine, and if you really want me to leave my post, I’m ready,” Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian during a press conference on Sunday.

“Alternatively, I can trade this for NATO membership, if such conditions exist, immediately, so we don’t have lengthy discussions. I’m focusing on Ukraine’s security today, not in 20 years. And I don’t intend to stay in power for decades.”

Let’s be clear: this is a major concession from a leader who has fought tooth and nail for his country’s survival. And yet, while Zelenskyy is making real sacrifices for peace, Donald Trump is out here regurgitating Kremlin propaganda and attacking an allied leader. […]

The timing of all this is no accident. Trump and his cronies are busy laying the groundwork for their America-first, Russia-appeasing foreign policy. Over the weekend, Trump administration officials—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio—held high-level talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. Let that sink in: while Ukraine fights for its survival, Trump’s team is holding backchannel talks with Putin’s goons. […]

In a Fox News Radio interview, Trump dismissed the idea of Zelenskyy attending any peace talks, saying, “He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished.”

Translation: Trump is ready to sell out Ukraine and hand Putin exactly what he wants. If that means sidelining Zelenskyy and forcing a surrender, so be it.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, remains steadfast. As he told NBC’s Kristen Welker earlier this month, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never. This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.”

That’s what leadership looks like. That’s what standing up for democracy sounds like. And it’s a stark contrast to Trump, who continues to bow to Putin at every turn.

There’s no question that bowing to Putin is the *American* stance, meaning the Trumpian stance, since we’re back on that sinking ship, having effectively escaped it once. Hegseth has chimed in,“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” adding U.S. troops will not be involved in securing a postwar Kyiv.

Zelenskyy says NATO membership for Ukraine is the most “cost-effective” solution for Ukraine’s security, insisting the country must have security guarantees for any peace deal to be acceptable and durable. That makes complete sense. But it looks like Trump has directed Hegseth to stonewall that.

So where things stand now, can NATO work around the United States? That might have been unthinkable a few years ago but we now live in the Era of Trump where Europe is having serious discussions about a EU army. And does that mean Trump immediately leaves NATO, which has been his plan all along because Putin wants it.

That may be in fact how things come down. But this resignation offer from Zelensky is an unexpected development and expect this story to move faster than a hummingbird’s wings.

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