While Russia’s Allies Send Troops, Ukraine Still Struggles to Secure Key Weapons, Says Ex FM Kuleba

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed doubt that US President-elect Donald Trump could achieve peace, warning in a POLITICO interview that withholding weapons from Kyiv could collapse Ukraine's front lines, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin shows no interest in negotiations.

Kuleba stated that Putin still believes he could crush Ukrainian statehood and expose West’s weakness.

“Ukraine is a personal obsession for Putin, but crushing Ukraine is also a means to accomplish his grand goal — to show to the world how the West is incapable of defending itself or what it stands for,” Kuleba said.

The Former FM also questioned Ukraine's Western partners’ determination, saying that while Russia has secured allies like North Korea to send troops, Kyiv’s allies have been inconsistent and unreliable in providing military support.

“People in Europe can be pissed off with me, but I kept saying, and I will keep saying, that the truth is today Russia has a friend ready to send its soldiers to die for Russia[’s] war,” adding that Ukraine’s allies have yet to provide the weapons it urgently needs.

Previously, Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, stated that Trump plans to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table on his first day in the White House.

Kuleba argued that such efforts would fail, as Putin has no interest in diplomacy and is instead focused on exhausting the West, convinced he can ultimately achieve all his objectives.

He emphasized that it is unthinkable for Zelenskyy to sign any deal that concedes territory. “The Russians keep the Donbas, they keep Crimea, no NATO membership. Can Zelenskyy sign? He cannot because of the Constitution. And because it will be the end of Zelenskyy politically,” Kuleba stated.

Previously, on November 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview that Ukraine “will lose” to Russia if the US halts military funding to Kyiv.