Trump's Ukraine Bargaining Leaves Civilians Exposed

Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least four people and injured dozens, including children, as Ukraine faced shortages of air defense interceptors and another round of high-stakes diplomacy. Attacks struck a main highway during rush hour. Those left to live with the consequences have little say in negotiations over weapons and military support.

Civilians Pay for the Bargaining

Andrii Pakhalovych, a coffee shop owner, put the urgency plainly: “If Trump wanted to, he would have given us at least those weapons long ago so that we could defend ourselves, so that we could protect our power and heating plants. In a month, we'll have freezing temperatures. What are people supposed to do?”

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European officials in Norway, seeking to avoid another diplomatic rupture with President Donald Trump. Their meeting followed Trump's criticism of Zelenskyy over Ukraine's efforts to inflict heavy losses on Russia. Witkoff was due to travel to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.

The dispute reaches beyond words. Restrictions on SpaceX services forced Ukraine to slow down and lose connections to its drones. Ukraine also accused the United States of withholding air defense missiles and intelligence used in its air alert system. The U.S. blamed a technical fault, and Zelenskyy said the warning system was working again: “Hear when ballistic is coming, so we are thankful to American side. Now it works. It's great.”

Multiple European officials said a U.S. program selling weapons to European countries for transfer to Ukraine still operated, but air defense interceptors remained in short supply. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “We haven't changed our posture in any way toward the Ukrainians. But certainly with things like interceptors, we want to make sure our guys have the most possible as well.” Governments still decide who gets weapons and when.

Trump cast support for Ukraine as a debt owed to Washington: “Russia would like to get it done, but Ukraine has to want to settle this war. Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war. And if he doesn't, I think it's going to be a very bad thing. Look, we have given tremendous amounts to Ukraine. We've got nothing back, other than high diesel.” The report said diesel prices had also risen because of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran.

Zelenskyy said, “So, all of us want peace, Ukraine, Europe, United States, and we will see what will be tomorrow. Of course, we're not losing this war, but we are losing people. And because Russia attacks, we're losing people and time.”

A Reset Above the People

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finland's President Alex Stubb met with Zelenskyy in Norway. Store said, “I'm happy that we were able to get together today to straighten out a few things and to agree that what matters now is to look ahead.” Stubb said, “We have actually made a lot of progress. Under the radar in the past week or so. And now I feel that the process is back on track.”

In a separate interview, David Kramer, identified as a former U.S. assistant secretary of state and executive director of the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, said it was hard to know whether the apparent reset would last. He said disruptions to intelligence provision and Starlink and Starshield services had cost Ukrainian lives, as Russia kept striking civilian targets.

Kramer described U.S.-Ukraine relations as strained and cited the Feb. 28, 2025, White House blowup, when Trump and Zelenskyy were essentially shouting at each other. Relations improved afterward, and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, which Kramer described as the two largest Russian energy companies. More recently, Washington's rhetoric suggested Ukraine was at fault. Kramer called the repeated shifts exhausting and unnerving for Ukrainians, and deadly as attacks on civilians continued.

Sanctions, Summit Politics and Sovereignty

Kramer said Putin had dangled improved U.S.-Russian relations, including business deals and nuclear negotiations, and offered a possible summit in Beijing the following month, when Trump was due to travel there for a major international conference. Ukrainians, Kramer said, would have great difficulty accepting a meeting between Putin, Chinese leader Xi and Trump to discuss Ukraine without Ukraine.

Kramer said Putin did not view Ukraine as a truly independent state, citing remarks he said Putin made to President Bush in 2008 in Sochi. Putin wanted Ukraine under Russia's thumb, Kramer said, seeking to destroy its identity, remove its duly elected government and deny it the ability to choose its future, including whether to join NATO or the European Union. He also wanted to reduce its military. Kramer said Zelenskyy's term had gone beyond its mandate because Ukraine had declared martial law after Russia's invasion.

Kramer called additional pressure on Putin “the way to end this war.” He urged tighter sanctions, action against the shadow fleet Russia relies on to fund its war effort, measures against Russian banks, companies and individuals, and renewed military assistance, either through Europeans buying U.S. weapons for Ukraine or through direct assistance. The U.S. Congress passed the Lindsey Graham legislation calling for more sanctions by 86-11 in the Senate and by a sizable margin in the House, Kramer said. Surveys showed Americans supported Ukraine, he said, arguing that pressure should target Putin, not Ukraine or Zelenskyy.

Kramer said Republican foreign policy had changed, with America First giving priority to different issues. Supporting Ukraine served U.S. national interests, he argued, and Zelenskyy had offered assistance when Iranian Shahed drones were hitting American targets in the Middle East after the war started there. Officials discuss weapons, sanctions and settlements in diplomatic rooms. Outside, people face attacks and disrupted warnings. Freezing temperatures are a month away.