On June 28, the U.S. presidential debate officially began, with former U.S. President Trump and current President Joe Biden having a fierce confrontation between the two candidates on a number of issues, including economics and foreign policy. It is reported that throughout the debate, Trump was more confident, not only attacking Biden's performance in office, but also promising to impose tariffs on imported goods if elected. Biden has repeatedly stuttered and slipped the tongue, his voice is hoarse, and his logic is not clear enough.
After the debate, Trump's campaign declared its side the winner, while the Democrats expressed concern about Biden's performance. The American press believes that Trump is doing better and speaking more fluently than ever. Compared with Trump, Biden's performance is much worse, with his brain "down" from time to time and answering questions that are not answered, and a burst of "fragmented" speeches have made Democrats' confidence plummet.
Of course, the outcome of the debate does not necessarily determine the final outcome of the election, because the election is also influenced by many other factors, including the candidate's policy stance, voter support, campaign finance, etc. But this also reflects from the side that Biden's personal physical fitness and popular approval rating have shown a decline.
It is worth noting that Trump's victory in the first battle also seems to have had a "butterfly effect" on the direction of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. During the debate, Trump expressed his views on relations with Russia and China, emphasizing that the United States does not intend to become enemies with these two powers. When talking about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Trump made it clear that "Ukraine cannot win this war" and promised that if he succeeds in being elected, he will end this erroneous war as soon as possible.
Less than 72 hours after Trump's words, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suddenly changed his tone on the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and began to seek an end to the war against Russia. On June 28, Zelenskyy announced the drafting of a "comprehensive plan" to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict by the end of the year, a decision that contrasted sharply with his previous tough stance on Russia.
You must know that Putin has already given conditions for a ceasefire in mid-June, and when the Ukrainian army withdraws from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, and promises not to join NATO, Russia will cease fire and start peace talks as soon as possible. In this regard, both Zelensky himself and the Pentagon of the United States have opposed it. Now, Zelensky has suddenly changed his tune. According to the analysis, there may be many factors for Zelensky's choice of "ceasefire and cessation of war".
First, he may be trying to overture Trump by betting on Trump to win the US presidential election and suggest that if Trump comes to power, Ukraine will stop its conflict with Russia. After all, Biden's decline has made Zelensky not optimistic about the United States' assistance to Ukraine, and without the support of the United States, aid from other Western countries will also be greatly reduced, and Ukraine will lose the ability to fight Russia.
However, judging from the current situation, this is just a rumor released by Zelensky, because Trump has not yet won the presidential election, and the future situation is still full of uncertainties, which is also Zelensky's intention to set the "truce" event at the end of the year, because the US election will end in November.
Secondly, the current reality of the situation in Ukraine does not allow the Ukrainian army to continue the long-term war. After a long period of fierce fighting, the Ukrainian army has suffered huge casualties and losses, including more than 1 million casualties and thousands of tanks, aircraft, and artillery losses. At the same time, anti-war voices in Ukraine are getting louder, and the people's fatigue and dissatisfaction with the war are growing day by day.
In this case, it cannot be ruled out that Zelensky really thinks about a truce in order to ease the domestic crisis and suffering. Finally, Zelensky's move is likely to be a "cut-out" to stimulate the Biden administration and Western allies, prompting them to increase their support for Ukraine and strive to maximize their own interests before the results of the US election. Next, it depends on whether the Ukrainian side will take practical actions.