Zelenky’s visit to the U.S. brought Ukraine important political results – political scientist Ihor Chalenko
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the United States, despite its tragic occasion, had positive political consequences for Ukraine and reinforced the trend toward a gradual shift in Donald Trump's administration's policy in Ukraine's favor. Political scientist and head of the Center for Analysis and Strategies Ihor Chalenko expressed this opinion in an interview with OstroV.
"Considering that the reason for the visit was the tragic death of a great friend of Ukraine, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to the United States had positive political consequences. First and foremost, this concerns his meeting with Donald Trump, which lasted more than an hour. Essentially, it reinforced the trend toward a gradual shift in the White House's policy in favor of Ukraine", - Chalenko noted.
The political scientist recalled that this trend had begun to emerge after the G7 summit and was later reinforced during the meeting between Zelensky and Trump in Ankara on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
"This visit effectively cemented that course", - he emphasized.
The expert also drew attention to positive signals regarding the development of Ukrainian-American defense cooperation. In particular, he referred to negotiations on licensing the production of missiles for Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine.
According to Chalenko, although Donald Trump stated that no final decision has yet been made, the very fact that negotiations are continuing indicates progress in this direction.
In the political scientist's opinion, the positive impact of the visit is also linked to the Ukrainian side's long-term work with representatives of the political circle close to the MAGA movement.
"In particular, this concerns the visit to Ukraine by blogger Laura Loomer, who has a multimillion-strong audience among Donald Trump's supporters. Her trip helped demonstrate that many of the previous toxic accusations against Ukraine do not correspond to reality and that Ukraine deserves continued support from the United States", - he explained.
Chalenko also pointed to progress in the U.S. Congress on the Graham-Blumenthal bill, which provides for stronger sanctions pressure on russia.
"In fact, consideration of the Graham-Blumenthal bill has begun. The first procedural vote has already taken place, indicating that the legislation is moving forward", - the expert noted.
In his assessment, if the current momentum continues, the bill could be passed as early as September.
At the same time, the political scientist noted that criticism has been voiced within the American political establishment toward the White House over the possible delay in advancing the sanctions initiative by adding issues related to Iran and Hezbollah.
"Nevertheless, in my opinion, this is primarily an element of domestic political debate in the United States. Moreover, such additions may even help ensure that the Ukrainian issue does not fade into the background despite Washington's strong focus on the Middle East", - Chalenko concluded.