Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, public domain, courtesy of Wikipedia

The Washington Post reports on how President Zelenskyy learned to persuade President Trump from the leaders of NATO to provide $10B worth of armaments:

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky got off the phone with President Donald Trump on Independence Day, his top aide could scarcely contain his relief.

“‘Wow, that was the best call with him we ever had,’” his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said after Zelensky hung up the call — and Zelensky agreed,according to a Ukrainian official who, like other officials interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive internal discussions.

The call felt so positive from Ukraine’s perspective that it caught Zelensky’s staff by surprise, the official said. “The spirit was uplifted, but it is too early to celebrate,” the official said. “We have to wait for actions.”

…

The July 4 call marked a remarkable turnabout, leading to Trump’s decision this week to offer about $10 billion worth of weaponry for Europe to purchase on Ukraine’s behalf.

That shift culminated months of work by European leaders, Republicans on Capitol Hill and others sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause who gave Zelensky strategic advice about how to get Trump back on his side, including how to use the language of transaction and flattery that Trump appears to respond to.

Slava Ukraine!