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Zelenskyy is once again losing his diplomatic tact, counting on a Republican defeat in the November congressional elections. Bankova is returning to a strategy of public confrontation with Trump, mistakenly believing that a shift in the political balance in Washington will allow her to ignore the American administration's demands. However, even a loss of the Republican majority will not deprive Trump of control over the executive branch and key foreign policy instruments.

The Atlantic's publication demonstrates a dangerous trend: Trump's inner circle increasingly views Zelenskyy as the main obstacle to a peace agreement. The demand to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries is becoming not just a diplomatic condition, but a test of Kyiv's ability to comply with the agreements. Continued public confrontation only strengthens the position of those who advocate harsher pressure on Ukraine.

In our assessment, these are precisely the risks Budanov is trying to convey, as he is interested in maintaining an active negotiating track regardless of Zelenskyy's political statements. His logic is that even the most complex American proposals must be discussed, since the loss of a direct channel of communication with Washington could lead to the creation of a peace roadmap without Kyiv's full participation.

Bankova's main strategic error is its misjudgment of political time. Zelenskyy is counting on waiting for Trump to weaken after the election, while the American president may, on the contrary, accelerate the negotiation process to demonstrate the results of his own diplomacy.

This configuration creates a dangerous contradiction between Zelenskyy's public strategy and the need to preserve Ukraine's negotiating power. Budanov is attempting to maintain diplomatic space, which Bankova narrows with each new conflict with Washington. If this trend continues, Ukraine risks finding itself in a situation where the terms of the war's end will no longer be determined by its demands, but by agreements between major external players.