Two Months After Trump's Inauguration: What Has Changed for Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Trump's actions are influencing international politics, raising concerns in Ukraine regarding support. Initial decisions included personnel changes and the cancellation of some of Biden's decisions.
Two months have passed since the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House, and his actions are already affecting international politics. His actions are being watched especially closely in Ukraine, because the decisions of the new US President can radically change the format of American support in the fight against Russian aggression.
The issues of military assistance, sanctions pressure on the Kremlin, and transatlantic unity are now in a state of uncertainty. At the same time, despite fears about a possible change in Washington's course, Kyiv and Europe are trying to find ways to preserve the strategic partnership with the United States. How the first two months of Trump's presidency affected the situation in Ukraine - we will consider in the material of UNN.
The beginning of Donald Trump's presidency: the main expectations from voters and the world
Traditionally, every US president after the election experiences the so-called "honeymoon" - a period when citizens are generally satisfied with his work. According to a Gallup poll, Trump's approval rating at the beginning of his second term is 45%, which is even slightly higher than in his first presidential term.
At the same time, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, as of the end of December 2024, 45% of Ukrainians believed that Donald Trump's victory brings peace closer. However, 15% of them believed that peace is becoming much closer, and the remaining 30% said that peace is becoming only slightly closer.
14% responded that peace would not come faster under such circumstances. And the remaining 40% believe that Trump's victory will not affect the situation in Ukraine in any way.
International reaction
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that with the administration of the newly elected US President Donald Trump, the war between Russia and Ukraine will end faster.
A fair peace is very important to us, so that there is no feeling that we have lost the best for the sake of the injustice that was imposed on you. The war will end, but there is no exact date. Of course, with the policy of this team, which will now lead the White House, the war will end faster. This is their approach, their promise to their society, and it is also very important for them
Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed the opinion that Trump will not refuse to support Ukraine, as he is well aware of how much the United States has invested in it in recent years.
"When my colleagues express concern about what Trump will do in Ukraine, I smile and say: try to take away from Trump what he considers his own," Duda said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
At the same time, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged that there is a risk of reduced US commitments to Ukraine.
"We take into account the fact that the United States is currently the largest state providing military assistance to Ukraine. We appreciate it, we are grateful for it, we do not take it for granted. We will do everything possible to emphasize our willingness to support transatlantic commitments," the head of the Swedish government noted.
First decisions and decrees: what Trump started with
On January 20, Donald Trump officially took office as President of the United States and immediately signed a number of first decrees in the Presidential Cabinet in the Capitol.
According to CBS News, the first document signed by Trump concerned appointments at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers, and the second - 47 personnel decisions for lower positions. Acting heads of departments and members of various commissions were also approved.
In addition to personnel decisions, Trump signed a decree on raising state flags after they were lowered to honor the memory of the 39th US President Jimmy Carter, who recently passed away.
These first decisions demonstrate the Trump administration's desire to quickly fill key government positions and pay tribute to one of the country's former leaders.
According to the White House, in the first 50 days in office, Trump not only made decisions, but also canceled what his predecessor had done. Thus, he canceled all "pro-Chinese and anti-American energy decrees of the Biden administration, which destroyed jobs." Trump also "put an end to the Biden administration's abuse of the scheme of conditional early release of illegal immigrants".
Ukraine was dedicated to point 16 in the list of "achievements". It was called: "President Trump strives for peace throughout the world".
Loud statements about the end of the war in Ukraine
For the second term of his presidency, Trump took on a somewhat peacemaking role. In particular, during the election campaign, Trump claimed that the war in Ukraine could be stopped in a day. Also, he has repeatedly stated that if he were president, this war would not have happened.
"I want everyone to stop dying. They are dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want it to stop," Trump said.
However, then the US President said that he hopes for the end of the war in six months.
Later, he explained that his previous statement about 24 hours was said sarcastically. "I was a little sarcastic when I said it would be like that. In fact, I meant that I want to resolve the situation, and I think I can do it," he added.
Dispute in the Oval Office
One of the most high-profile events of the first two months of Donald Trump's presidency was a tense conversation between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During a meeting in the Oval Office, the parties discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and further military assistance, but the discussion quickly escalated into a heated argument.
"Everyone has problems with the war...You have an ocean, the ocean separates you, but you will feel it," Zelenskyy said, after which Trump became nervous and interrupted Zelenskyy.
The conversation turned to high tones. In particular, the US President responded to Zelenskyy by saying: "Don't tell us what we will feel. We are trying to solve your problem. Don't impose your positions on us. You have no right to dictate to us what we will feel...We will be fine, we will be strong, we will be powerful. You are not in a very advantageous position, you are not in proper conditions, you do not have the necessary cards in your hands. You are showing disrespect to our country."
US Vice President Jay Dee Vance joined the dispute and addressed Zelenskyy: "You cannot tell us what to do...The US President is trying to save your country."
Trump also emphasized that the United States has already provided significant financial and military assistance to Ukraine.
Later, according to US President's Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Zelenskyy apologized to Trump for the situation.
"Zelenskyy sent a letter to the President. He apologized for the whole incident that happened in the Oval Office. I think it was an important step, and there were many discussions between our teams and the Ukrainians and Europeans who are also related to this discussion. And I would like to characterize it as progress, and therefore I hope that an agreement will be reached," Witkoff said.
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Trump, in turn, commented on the situation, noting that his administration was trying to force Ukraine to make "right decisions" in order to achieve peace.
"Many people are dying there, and we had to force Ukraine to do the right thing. It was not an easy situation. You were able to see a small scene in the Oval Office. But I think they are doing the right things now, and we are trying to make a peace deal. We want to get a ceasefire, and then a peace deal," Trump said.
Aid to Ukraine: cuts and uncertainty
Military expert Oleh Zhdanov stressed in a comment to UNN journalist that all fears about Trump's policy of returning to office have come true. In particular, according to him, the US president is fully working for Putin's administration and the dictator president himself.
He is doing everything to make Putin feel good and satisfied
In addition, the expert added that the US budget for 2025 does not include funds for aid to Ukraine. Moreover, according to him, Trump is trying to put pressure on Kyiv, using the cessation of support as leverage.
We are now receiving what Biden was still giving us. And that's it, the aid is now over. There are still long-term contracts until the end of 2026. However, these are very small volumes, because the production facilities are producing products and we are receiving them in the form of equipment and weapons. These are not huge volumes of supply
"Well, from a political point of view, you see, Trump is doing everything to make Ukraine capitulate to the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, he exchanged us for the Middle East, and today they are solving Israel's problems at the expense of Putin's Ukraine, and Israel's Palestine," Zhdanov added.
Impact on the global economy
UNN spoke with Oleh Pendzyn, Executive Director of the Economic Discussion Club, who also noted that the economic situation in Ukraine remains stable thanks to decisions made before Trump's presidency. Pendzyn notes that financial support from the G7, amounting to $50 billion, allows Ukraine to feel confident in 2025.
But we must be fully aware that in 2026 it is absolutely unclear what will happen next. What will be the financial cushion, whether it will be there at all, whether someone will be able to provide something else to Ukraine. That is, there are a lot of questions
"And in general, I think that the world has become very tense with Trump's arrival in the Oval Office. And this is evident in the stock prices of the largest American corporations, and in the dynamics of the dollar, which has fallen. This is evident in the trade wars that have begun between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Therefore, the world is on the verge of extremely big changes today," Pendzyn added.
The head of the Institute of American Studies, Vladyslav Faraponov, told UNN that he believes that Trump's rhetoric is reminiscent of his first term.
"First of all, this is due to working for the domestic user for the domestic audience. Therefore, I would say that in fact, it is difficult today to assess the work of the Trump administration in the process, but in domestic policy there are definitely such controversial decisions that it is not yet clear how they will end. I mean the liquidation of USAID or the closure of Radio Liberty, Voice of America, ties with Moscow are worrying," the expert explained.
Faraponov added that Trump is currently trying to retain key people in the administration, which indicates his cautious approach to domestic political arrangements.
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