CNN
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World leaders have been rushing to get on Donald Trump’s good side since his reelection as US president, arguably none more so than Ukraine.
In his annual New Year address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had “no doubt that the new American president is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin’s aggression,” in comments that embody his approach to winning over Trump.
Just days later, Zelensky told an American podcaster that Trump won as he was a “much stronger” candidate than Kamala Harris, adding, “He showed that he can do it intellectually and physically.”
Zelensky isn’t alone among prominent Ukrainians in trying to butter up Trump. In November, a Ukrainian MP from Zelensky’s party even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize, according to a letter seen by the Kyiv Independent.
Such tactics have long been favored by foreign powers. Think of how China took Trump to the Forbidden City or the UK government enlisted the royals during his last term in the White House.
Nor is this an entirely new approach from Ukraine. In what a 2019 CNN opinion article called a “textbook suck-up,” Zelensky could be heard hailing Trump as a “great teacher” on the notorious call in which the then first-term president urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Years on, the stakes could not be higher for Ukraine. Kyiv enters 2025 on the backfoot in its war against Russia, with Ukrainian forces struggling to hold back Russian advances in the east, where they are vastly outnumbered. Its chances of retaking occupied Russian territory anytime soon look increasingly slim.
Under outgoing President Biden, the US became the single largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine and Kyiv remains keenly aware that it needs to stay on Trump’s side to secure future support.
“Unfortunately, Zelensky does not have the luxury to be hostile towards Trump,” Joanna Hosa, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations told CNN.
“He must at least try to get him on Ukraine’s side in order to secure the best possible outcome for Ukraine, which depends enormously on American support.”
Trump has repeatedly stressed the need to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, suggesting that negotiations could be on the horizon. His envoy’s plan to end the war contains much that will please the Kremlin.
Zelensky has said he wants to “work directly” with the new president and appears more willing to – or perhaps has no choice but to – make battlefield concessions.
“Of course, Ukraine would want to recapture all land it lost. However, after three years of this exhausting war, recapturing all land is nowhere in sight. With a heavy heart, Ukrainians are slowly coming to accept this,” Hosa said.
Zelensky has frequently described Trump as strong, an apparent effort to appeal to a president-elect who has made “peace through strength” a rallying call.
“Trump could be crucial. I think this is the most important thing for us. His qualities are like that. He can be decisive in this war. He can stop Putin,” Zelensky told United News, Ukraine’s wartime TV network, earlier this month.
Orysia Lutsevych, deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at London-based think tank Chatham House, believes Zelensky’s praise can largely be taken as sincere. She told CNN: “I think he genuinely believes that Trump can make bold moves, and this is where this hope comes from, and not only in Zelensky’s mind but in Ukraine more broadly.”
Another factor is that unlike previous US administrations, Trump fundamentally believes he can have good relations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He has long expressed his admiration for Putin while other world leaders have shunned him and has pledged to meet with him “very quickly” after he takes office.
For his part, Putin – who was condemned as a “butcher” by Biden – seems open to building ties with Trump. Following Trump’s election win, Putin offered his congratulations, calling him a “courageous man.” During his year-end news conference in December, he said he was ready to meet with him.
Even if Russia is brought to the negotiating table, there’s reason to believe its word cannot be trusted. As CNN’s chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh points out, Moscow’s previous pledges of peace in Ukraine have been characterized by deception, suggesting any potential ceasefire may be in name only.
Lutsevych believes that the Ukrainian government is trying to present Kyiv’s defeat over Moscow as something that would strengthen America’s “power projection” on the world stage.
“This is the game; whether Trump will believe this is a viable strategy is another question,” she said.
And Zelensky has offered other benefits. In October last year, he pitched the idea of swapping out some US forces based in Europe with Ukrainian troops once Russia’s war in Ukraine is over. He argued that the wartime experience of Kyiv’s forces could be put to good use, bolstering NATO – the military alliance which Ukraine has been offered assurances it will join – and helping to ensure security in Europe, something that is likely to appeal to a US leader who has demanded Europe do more on defense.
Zelensky has also appealed to Trump’s business-focused mind. His so-called ‘Victory Plan,’ unveiled in October last year, includes a significant deal with the US on minerals – a critical resource Ukraine is rich in.
According to a report in the New York Times, the signing of the minerals deal was pushed back twice, with the possible motive of allowing Trump to take credit for it when he takes office.
Lutsevych posited that Kyiv would be making a lucrative offer to the US, in economic terms. “We’ve seen that in this ‘Victory Plan,’ that it includes critical minerals, it includes investments… [Ukraine is] basically trying to say that it can be profitable for America.”
But while flattering Trump is a common tactic, his unpredictability means there are few guarantees it will work.
Trump’s welcome by then-British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, back in 2019 did not stop him from firing off a series of angry tweets moments before stepping off his plane, describing London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “stone cold loser.” He then labeled then-British Prime Minister Theresa May as “foolish.”
Hosa believes there is evidence Zelensky’s approach is paying off, with Trump acknowledging it would take longer than 24 hours to end the conflict – a claim he made in July 2024 – in a sign of his shifting attitude.
“He [Zelensky] faced a choice: flatter Trump or be forced to capitulate to Putin,” Hosa said.
“Flattery is a small price to pay for a better outcome than that.”
