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After the verbal attack on Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance, Ukraine was facing a disaster. The clear danger was that Trump would work with Vladimir Putin to force Ukraine to be isolated to accept the actual Russian victory.

This danger remains. But some highly prominent diplomacy by British Prime Minister Sir Kerr Starmer, who was working closely with Emmanuel Macron of France, has led to the worst at the present time. At a meeting in London, European political leaders embraced Zelinski heat, then King Charles – who seemed not interested that the Ukrainian leader was not wearing a suit. The message was clear. Zelinski and Ukraine are not alone.

More importantly, Starmer and Macron have temporarily extracted the diplomatic initiative from Trump and Putin. By announcing that European countries will work with Ukraine to propose a peace – which will then be presented to the United States – made it difficult for Trump to treat peace in Ukraine as something that is negotiated between America and Russia alone.

Instead of simply, Europe and Ukraine should be on the table, take Starmer and Macron important steps to ensure this happens. The French also pressures for a temporary ceasefire, confirming that they are working for peace.

But any excitement about these developments should be strongly qualified. It is still likely that the founder of peace initiatives. There is no real sign that Russia is ready to stop fighting. In fact, Putin’s incentives for cutting the deal are diminished quickly, because it now has a realistic hope for the United States to end the military aid of Ukraine soon.

It also seems that the United States is unlikely to agree to provide Anglo -French “reassurance” in Ukraine. Trump’s obsessive fear of World War III will make him very hesitant in risk. However, Starmer insists that no deal can work without an American behind.

Even if a peace deal is achieved, it will take several months to negotiate. Meanwhile, Ukraine is likely to have to fight against the witnessed Russia. Even before the confrontation last week between Trump and Zellinski, it was already clear that Trump would not agree to another package of US aid to Ukraine. In the wake of the direct row, there was a conversation that America would immediately cut all the shipments of military aid to Ukraine

Kelly Magsam, who was the Chief of Staff of Lloyd Austin when the US Secretary of Defense, was replied by commenting: “This could paralyze Ukraine within weeks. We will basically hand over Ukraine to Putin.” Another former official in Biden believes that Ukraine can fight without American support for several months – but perhaps not years.

However, the mood among many Ukrainians participating in the war effort is more positive – as it was discovered in Kiev last week. This is not just Bravado. It depends on a logical assessment of how to fight war.

Ukraine’s experience of drone, which was developed during three years of fighting, has changed the nature of the conflict. Oleksandr Khomiak, which runs drone laboratories, Secure It will now be impossible for Russia to address the assault on Kiev of the type that Putin tried at the beginning of the war. Any large concentration of forces or tanks will be destroyed by Ukrainian drones.

The effect of drones, manufactured in Ukraine, greatly explains the horrific losses that Russia is exposed to last year. Western sources believe that Russia lost 400,000 soldiers killed or wounded and acquired only 0.5 percent of Ukrainian lands in return.

The holidays is that the Ukrainian army uses Elon Musk’s Starlink service to help contact drones and fly. American Intelligence also provides Ukraine in actual time to help set goals. These services can be cut. But Khomek believes that – with European help and local experiences – Ukraine can find solutions to continue fighting.

Instead of overcoming all Ukraine, the preferred result of Russia at this stage is likely to install a pro -Moscow doll government in Kiev. This is why Putin – with Trump’s support – presses the elections in Ukraine. But even the tremendous Russian intervention may not be sufficient to deprive Zelinski of victory in a vote. Trump inadvertently gave Ukrainian President a big boost in opinion polls.

By standing at Trump and Fans in the Oval Office, Zelinski again showed that he was able to bear pressure that would crush other leaders. Trump and Fath enjoyed the difficult players on home. But Zelinski is the real thing. He remained in Kyiv, when the Russian forces were closing and the city was under the bombing. In contrast, Vans chose to move to a safe site when facing a few contestants on a ski trip this week.

Western imagination – and its approach to war – is still inhabited by the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021. But Ukraine is not Afghanistan and Kiev is not Kabul. The nation of Zelinski is in a risky position. But with the help of Europe, it can remain in the fighting enough to achieve real peace – peace that guarantees its independence and sovereignty.

Gideon.rachman@ft.com