Ukrainian President Zelensky stated in a program broadcast on the 4th that if negotiation is the only way to bring peace to the Ukrainian people, Ukraine is willing to sit at the negotiating table with Russia together with the United States and Europe.

Zelensky said that the current assistance provided by partner countries is not enough to drive the Russian army out of the controlled territory, and Ukraine needs to regain the territory through comprehensive military and diplomatic means.

Russia: Ready to negotiate with Zelensky, Putin: Not opposed to peace talks, but must be in line with Russia’s interests

On the 5th, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov stated that although Zelensky is not the legitimate president of Ukraine, Russia is ready to negotiate with him.

In response to a question from Russian TV reporter Zarubin on January 28th, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in possible future negotiations with Ukraine, Russia will reach results that are in line with its own interests. Russia is not opposed to negotiations with anyone in Ukraine, but the final signing of the document will be a very serious issue that should ensure the long-term security of Russia and Ukraine.

Putin: It is possible for us to negotiate with anyone, but because he (Zelensky) is an illegitimate president, he has no right to sign any documents. But if he wants to be involved in the negotiations, I will have people involved.

Trump: Putin and I may soon take 'significant action' to end Russia-Ukraine conflict

It is worth noting that a series of recent statements by the United States on the Russia-Ukraine issue have aroused widespread concern. U.S. President Trump said on the 4th that the U.S. government is having dialogue with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine on the situation in Ukraine, and that the dialogue is friendly and constructive.

Trump said the U.S. government has had "very serious" discussions with Russia about the Ukraine crisis and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin may soon take "significant action" to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Previously, on February 3rd, Trump said that the United States wants Ukraine to provide guarantees on the supply of rare earth minerals in exchange for financial and military assistance from Washington.

Both the United States and Russia demand that Ukraine hold elections. Zelensky: Only when the wartime state ends

Recently, U.S. Special Envoy for Russia and Ukraine Kellogg stated that he hopes Ukraine will hold elections before the end of this year. Keith Kellogg said in an interview that he hopes that certain progress will be made in Russia-Ukraine ceasefire negotiations in the next 100 days. He also said that the United States hopes that Ukraine will hold an election before the end of this year, especially if Russia and Ukraine can achieve a ceasefire.

In this regard, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov also said that it is necessary for Ukraine to hold an election.

Peskov: We all know the legal reality of the Kiev regime, which is that Zelensky’s presidential term has ended. President Putin has stated his position on this many times. There is no dispute. This is the current political reality in Ukraine.

The American "Politics" believes that the United States has not clearly requested the order of elections and ceasefires in Ukraine. Russia also did not clearly state whether the ceasefire negotiations were conditional on Ukraine holding an election, but stated that confirmation of the ceasefire agreement requires Ukraine to have legitimate leadership, and the election is to give the Ukrainian leadership political legitimacy.

Zelensky's presidential term was supposed to expire on May 20th, 2024. In February 2022, after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out, Zelensky declared that the country had entered a state of war. According to Ukraine's constitution, parliamentary or presidential elections are prohibited during the country's wartime state, and Zelensky will continue to perform the duties of the president after his term expires. In November 2024, Zelensky once again extended Ukraine's wartime state and general mobilization order for 90 days to February 7th this year, and the presidential election originally scheduled for last year was also repeatedly postponed.

Ukraine has expressed concerns about the U.S. request for elections in Ukraine. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmitry Litvin said that if the US plan is just a ceasefire and an election, then this plan will be a "failed plan".

On February 5th, local time, Zelensky signed a decree on extending the state of war and mobilization in Ukraine. The state of war and general mobilization order will be extended for another 90 days to May 9th, 2025. However, Zelensky said in a recent interview that Ukrainian elections are very important, but they can only be held after the hot war phase ends and the wartime state is lifted. "Lifting the wartime status quo now is exactly what Putin wants," Zelensky said.

Putin has previously stated that there is no provision in the Ukrainian constitution to extend the presidential term during wartime, so current President Zelensky is illegitimate. However, Putin also said that as long as Ukraine holds elections and Zelensky wins the election, he will become Ukraine's legitimate leader. However, according to RIA Novosti’s report on February 4th, Zelensky’s support rate is worrying. The survey shows that Zaluzhny, the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and current Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, continues to rank first in the trust rating of Ukrainian citizens, with an approval rate of 72% if an election is held, while Zelensky's approval rate is only 49%, ranking fourth. In second place is Budanov, director of the General Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, with an approval rate of 62%. In third place is Ukrainian boxer Usyk, with an approval rate of 60%.

The unanimous rhetoric of Russia and the United States on the Ukrainian election has also aggravated domestic concerns in Ukraine. So, why do the United States and Russia regard the Ukrainian election as an important part of peace negotiations? Are the purposes of both parties consistent?

Direct contact between the United States and Russia to bypass Ukraine, Zelensky: This is very dangerous

In addition, Ukraine is also worried that the United States and Russia have direct contact on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky expressed dissatisfaction in an interview.

Zelensky: I think it is very dangerous for the United States and Russia to have direct negotiations on the Ukrainian issue without involving Ukraine.

At present, the United States has released a series of signals regarding Russia-Ukraine negotiations. It can be seen that the United States seems to be interested in bypassing Ukraine and directly talking to Russia. In this regard, Russia still maintains a low profile, while Ukraine is greatly dissatisfied. So, have the United States and Russia started dialogue? How will Ukraine respond?

First, Ukraine must hold back the United States. Zelensky said that the order of negotiations should be first between Ukraine and the United States, and then add Russia to form trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. This ensures that Ukraine has a say and interests in the negotiations.

Secondly, Zelensky also hopes that Europe will also join the negotiations. As a party directly involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Europe does not want the United States and Russia to start negotiations directly, bypassing Europe. Therefore, European leaders such as the President of Poland have also expressed their hope to participate in the negotiation process. Europe's participation can prevent direct dialogue between Russia and the United States from harming Ukraine's interests.

Hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in aid “whereabouts unknown”

Zelensky: I don’t know where the money went

At the same time, the United States’ attitude towards aid to Ukraine has also changed. More than half a month after the new U.S. government took office, it has been unresolved when and how it will facilitate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and whether it will continue to provide military support to Ukraine continues to arouse public speculation. In the midst of the fog, "how much aid has the United States given to Ukraine" has inadvertently become a controversial new topic.

Zelensky mentioned in an interview a few days ago that the United States always said that it had approved a total of 177 billion US dollars in aid to Ukraine, and some even said that it was nearly 200 billion US dollars, but what Ukraine actually received was only a fraction of it, and most of it was not cash, but weapons.

Zelensky complained that these statements were misleading. "Maybe there are hundreds of different projects on the books that really add up to $200 billion, but in fact we only received less than $76 billion." "I don't know where that money went."

The U.S. aid funds to Ukraine that Zelensky mentioned “on the books” are indeed well-documented. Data provided by the Government Accountability Office under the U.S. Congress at the end of fiscal year 2024 show that as of the last time the Ukraine aid bill was passed in April last year, the U.S. Congress had allocated more than $174 billion to support Ukraine, including military as well as economic and humanitarian assistance.

Data provided by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) at the same time also showed that after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.S. Congress passed a total of five supplementary appropriations bills aimed at aiding Ukraine, with a total amount of approximately US$175 billion.

Now that data from the two major institutions have cross-confirmed the scale of the "book funds" aiding Ukraine, where did the more than 100 billion U.S. dollars that Ukraine never received go?

According to calculations by the CFR, more than $60 billion of the $175 billion was allocated to "various other war-related projects," and only $106 billion was directed to Ukraine, of which nearly $70 billion was military aid, most of which was delivered in the form of weapons aid.

This figure of "weapons aid" is consistent with Zelensky's statement, but what exactly happened to the more than 60 billion US dollars used for "other war-related projects" and the other more than 30 billion US dollars "directly used for Ukraine"? No one can give an answer.

Not giving an answer does not mean there is no answer. In fact, as early as October 2023, when the then-Biden administration proposed a package of funding proposals to Congress covering foreign military aid for fiscal year 2024, the White House has been publicizing that most of the funds to aid Ukraine were spent in the United States. In a speech delivered at the time, Biden made it clear for the first time that providing arms, ammunition and other military supplies to allies in conflict such as Ukraine would be beneficial to the U.S. economy and jobs because these things are made in the United States.

Since then, Secretary of Defense Austin and Secretary of State Blinken of the Biden administration have publicly stated bluntly on many occasions that conflicts in Ukraine and other places are "good" for the U.S. economy because they create more job opportunities for the U.S. military industry.

Even Zelensky bluntly stated in a previous interview with US media that 80% (at least more than 75%) of the aid funds allocated to Ukraine by the US Congress and government remained in the United States. "The weapons and ammunition are shipped to us, but the production is done there, the money stays in the United States, and the taxes stay in the United States."