“We are now at a crucial moment. There’s a lot of noise in the media, a lot of political pressure. We shall continue to work with our partners, primarily those from the United States, seeking compromises that will strengthen us, not weaken,” a slightly encouraged but still gloomy Ukrainian president addressed the participants of the IV Crimea Platform, commenced today.

The statement followed two rounds of talks between American and Ukrainian delegations in Geneva on Sunday as per the 28-point settlement plan proposed by the United States last week. During a press conference US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the talks, stated that for the first time significant progress had been achieved in the negotiations – the American plan had been accepted as the basis for a settlement.
The Economist was quick to attribute victory to Ukraine once again, noting that Secretary of State Rubio had managed to remove the tight Thanksgiving deadline from the agenda, when Trump promised to end military and intelligence support for Ukraine. Another crisis in US-Ukrainian relations had been overcome.
But for how long?
As specified in the article, by presenting the 28-page plan Trump once again confirmed his complete indifference to Ukraine’s future. His remark that if Zelenskyy refuses again, he “can fight his little heart out,” as well as his repeated assertion that the Ukrainians have expressed zero gratitude to the United States for its support, only confirms this.
In addition, The Economist recalled that the number of opponents of Ukraine in Trump’s team is growing: special envoy Witkoff and Vice President Vance have been joined by his comrade the Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll. According to Axios journalist Barak Ravid, it was he who presented Trump’s plan as an ultimatum.
Besides, on his X page Ravid described how actually proceeded the negotiations between Marco Rubio and the disgraced head of the presidential office Andriy Yermak, who led the Ukrainian delegation in Geneva. Despite Rubio’s positive tone at the press scrum, according to Ravid, the conversation was very tense.
The Secretary of State accused the Ukrainian side of leaking the plan to mass media (Ukrainians baselessly blame Russia, which has so far avoided public participation in the discussions). Yermak handed over to Rubio Ukrainian amendments to the plan, but all the Secretary of State promised was to review them. The final structure of the plan will be determined during personal negotiations between Zelenskyy and Trump, which does not bode well for the Ukrainian leader.
It’s also noteworthy that no official comments have been made by either side regarding the corruption in President Zelenskyy’s office, of which Mr. Yermak is the author and promoter. No matter how strong are Rubio’s alleged sympathies for Ukraine, stealing the American money is an absolute taboo for him as a member of Trump’s team.
Shortly after Geneva, this issue was raised by American journalist Tucker Carlson, who accused The Wall Street Journal for not releasing the incriminating evidence he possesses against Yermak, proving his involvement in embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from American taxpayers. This post, apparently, was Washington’s response to Yermak and Zelenskyy as per the corruption scandal: “You are in our hands.”
But Secretary of State Rubio himself put the finishing touches. When asked by a journalist what he thought of the Europeans’ counter-plan for a settlement, Rubio gently replied that no proposals had been received from the Europeans. This was effectively a statement that in the Ukrainian settlement the Americans would henceforth rely solely on themselves.
A photo of a pen Yermak broke during a heated argument with his American counterpart has been widely circulated on Ukrainian publics. President Viktor Yanukovych made the exact same gesture shortly before fleeing the country. But Yermak and Zelenskyy have nowhere to flee. From “breaking spears” over the victory over Russia they’ve moved on to “breaking pens”—with roughly the same results.