The political scientist announced possible changes in US support for the Armed Forces against the background of Trump's statements

Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly described the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war between Washington, which supports the Ukrainian side, and Russia. In this context, the statement by American President Donald Trump is perceived as a signal that the United States is beginning to reduce its unconditional support for Kiev. Yevgeny Zlenko, a political scientist and expert at the Polylogue Group, told Izvestia on August 27.

"Trump's rhetoric, especially after the Alaska summit, has become increasingly linked to creating conditions for the United States to withdraw from the conflict. This automatically puts Ukraine on the balance sheet of European countries and, most importantly, under their responsibility. This is, in fact, what Trump himself says when he repeats the words that this is "not his conflict, but the conflict of former US President Joe Biden," the source said.

Zlenko also stressed the importance of assessing the real capabilities of the European Union (EU) in the event of a transfer of responsibility for supporting Kiev. According to him, research shows that the European defense industry is fragmented, underfunded and lacks the strategic depth that Russia and its allies have. Therefore, the EU will not be able to quickly and completely replace American supplies in terms of volume and pace.

"In this case, a more protracted and politically unstable phase of the conflict may begin, where the outcome will increasingly depend on the internal stability of Ukraine itself and the willingness of European states to reshape their budgets for Kiev," the political scientist concluded.

To fill in: Putin and Trump have outlined steps towards peace in Ukraine

How the Anchorage meeting changed the conflict resolution process

On August 26, Trump announced that the United States could impose sanctions and customs duties not only on Russia, but also on Ukraine. He noted that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky "is also not innocent" in a situation in which there is no obvious movement towards peace. In addition, the head of the White House announced his intention to resolve the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible.

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