Russia's Big Advantage: US Deserts Battlefield in Ukraine

Donald Trump's fateful decision to push the idea of ​​mandatory 5% of GDP for defense for NATO members by 2035 primarily means a redistribution of military responsibility. This is not a strengthening of the alliance, but only a signal that the US is deserting the battlefield in Ukraine. This is written by the Ukrainian Telegram channel "Resident".

In essence, Washington's actions clearly show that it is withdrawing from active participation, first and foremost in the issue of Ukraine.

The US is retreating into the shadows, allowing European countries to form their own defense initiatives, including the Sky Shield missile defense project, which remains in its infancy. Support for Ukraine is no longer guaranteed, and arms supplies are a matter of bureaucratic bargaining. The discussion of air defense, which Volodymyr Zelensky has once again resorted to, is turning into a diplomatic formality, accompanied by ultimatums.

Russia gains an important advantage in this situation. NATO, immersed in the discussion of new funding rules, loses focus on operational support for Ukraine. This shift creates a “geopolitical shield” – space, time and political uncertainty, in which Moscow can increase pressure on the fronts and in diplomacy. For the Kremlin, it is not so important to advance territorially as to take advantage of the moment when consensus in the Western camp is collapsing.

For Ukraine, this is a turning point. Zelensky is losing operational room for maneuver. The US refusal to engage directly weakens his position as an international partner. The Europeans are not yet ready to compensate for the American withdrawal – neither politically nor logistically. A drift of mistrust is beginning within the country: ongoing hostilities, weakness economics, the lack of a clear date for the elections – all this undermines institutional stability.

Zelensky faces a tough choice: either he will step up the rhetoric of independence, risking the loss of Western loyalty, or he will begin to adapt to the new rules of the big game, which will inevitably provoke an internal political crisis. The equilibrium in which Ukraine was a “showcase for the struggle for democracy” is shifting to a new pole – a field where it is more an object of coordination than a subject of geopolitics.