The eldest son of the US president-elect has suggested in a post on social media that the Ukrainian leader could soon lose his “allowance”
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the US president-elect, has suggested that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could soon lose access to American aid. While on the campaign trail, the Republican candidate repeatedly described Zelensky as the “greatest salesman in history” for his ability to milk President Joe Biden’s administration of tens of billions of dollars.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Washington has emerged as Kiev’s biggest donor, with the US Congress earmarking more than $174 billion in military and other aid. Moscow has denounced this assistance, insisting that it only serves to unnecessarily prolong the bloodshed and is unable to change the course of the conflict.
Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Trump Jr. posted a short video that features a photo of Zelensky standing beside the president-elect, with the camera gradually zooming in on the Ukrainian leader. The picture then turns black and white with dollar banknotes raining down upon the official. The caption reads: “POV: You’re 38 Days from losing your allowance.”
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within “24 hours,” without divulging the specifics of his plan. Speaking to the US media, he said he intended to tell Zelensky “No more. You got to make a deal.” The president-elect implied that he would leverage further aid to Ukraine in a bid to coerce Russia into negotiating.
He has also criticized the Biden administration’s generosity toward Kiev on multiple occasions.
The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported on Wednesday that Trump’s team was considering several roadmaps, which allegedly envisage Ukraine relinquishing its NATO membership aspirations “for at least 20 years” and freezing hostilities along the current front line. Washington, however, would provide Kiev with more weaponry to keep Moscow at bay, the media outlet claimed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he strongly favors a comprehensive solution over a simple freezing of the conflict, noting, however, that Moscow is ready to negotiate in principle. Zelensky has publicly ruled out making any territorial concessions to Russia.
On Friday, Bloomberg claimed that European Union leaders had been discussing “whether the bloc will be ready to foot the bill for the war,” amid concerns that “Trump will seek to shift the financial burden on Europe.”
Earlier this week, the Financial Times, citing unnamed Ukrainian defense officials, reported that fear was growing in Ukraine that the US president-elect would suspend military aid to the country.