Trump's Desire to End Ukrainian Conflict is About Power, Not Russia: Former Ukrainian Politician

US President-elect Donald Trump's desire to end the Ukraine conflict is driven by a struggle for power, not by any affinity for Russia, Oleg Tsarev, former deputy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine, told Sputnik Africa.

"Donald Trump is now obviously in favor of ending the conflict in Ukraine. He wants to focus on fighting the deep state; he wants to win the laurels of a peacemaker, perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize," he said.

Tsarev agreed with Elon Musk's claim that the worst bill passed by Congress was the one allocating weapons to Ukraine. He noted that when Trump's victory became clear, Joe Biden began working to prolong the war, contradicting his prior actions when he expected to win.

"He [Donald Trump] appointed people who are now speaking out in favor of ending the war in Ukraine. [...] And this is right; this is good, and we welcome it. But we must understand the real reasons. It is not because he loves Vladimir Putin or loves Russia. It is because there is a struggle for power," Tsarev stated.

Tsarev further noted that if Russia did not have nuclear weapons, then the country would no longer exist. He stated that Oreshnik is not an internal Ukrainian issue; it is an issue of global security.

"The Americans withdrew from the missile defense system, that is, from the system of limiting short- and medium-range missiles. This withdrawal was signed by Donald Trump, whom we now honor and love for the fact that he is supposedly for Russia. And Russia then responded - since you are doing this, then we will start creating missiles," Tsarev stated.

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Commenting on the possible deployment of European troops in Ukraine as "peacekeepers," the politician said that if Russia were to agree to it, Zelensky would create impossible demands, such as transferring nuclear weapons or paying reparations, that Russia would not accept, so that peace negotiations would not be successful.

"Zelensky believes that he has a chance of success; he believes that it is possible to force Trump; it is possible to defeat Trump, it is possible to directly contradict; it is possible to do not what Trump says but give the command. And he thinks that he needs to hold out for two years together with the democrats," Tsarev said, speaking of the 2026 Congress elections.

The politician also stated that Ukraine is valuable for the West only for acting "as a battering ram against Russia." He noted, explaining the reasons why Vladimir Putin demanded demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, that if Ukraine is weak, it will not be of interest to the West against Russia.

Tsarev cited the statement by Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov that the West's $350 billion spent on the war in Ukraine is equivalent to the value of seized Russian assets. He inferred that the West was effectively financing the war using Russia's own money, and that their unwillingness to spend their own funds means military action is likely to cease.