America's credibility crisis: Echoes of Russian influence
What we are witnessing now is unprecedented: the United States has yielded to Russian propaganda, explains the Swedish newspaper "Dagens Nyheter." Meanwhile, the daily "Svenska Dagbladet" warns that Americans can no longer be trusted.
Amanda Sokolnicki, writing in the Swedish press, questions whether Russian propaganda has ever been as effective as it has been in the past 24 hours. She highlights that the United States has succumbed to Russian influence for the first time in history.
The author then further describes how Russia's influence peaked on Wednesday when U.S. President Donald Trump closely echoed Russian disinformation, claiming that Ukraine initiated the war and that President Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator unwilling to hold elections.
Growing tensions between the USA and Ukraine
A commentator from "Dagens Nyheter" notes that Trump, who encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol after losing power, concluded from his discussion with Russian leader Vladimir Putin that "the most important thing for Ukraine now is the development of democracy."
She also points out that the Trump administration insisted on U.S. involvement in Ukraine's natural resources—not as part of security guarantees for Ukraine, but as a way for Americans to recoup the funds spent on its defense. She notes that U.S. objectives are beginning to bear a striking resemblance to those of Russia.
Karin Eriksson from the same newspaper fears that if Zelensky obstructs Trump's ambitions, he will have to step aside. "This is connected to Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections in 2016. Putin denied any Russian involvement, and at the summit (with Trump's participation) in Helsinki in 2018, said there was no reason not to trust the Kremlin," Eriksson reminds us.
Eriksson notes that Trump was more interested in investigating Joe Biden's ties to Ukraine than in the Russian aspect of the investigation. "In the summer of 2019, Trump tried to pressure the newly elected President Zelensky," she notes. According to the columnist, Trump used the issue of Ukraine as a weapon in his battle to return to the White House.
Eriksson highlights that voters responded positively to criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine throughout the campaign. She argues that Trump's stance is driven by a purely business-oriented mindset, where loyalty to allies holds little significance.
Meanwhile, "Svenska Dagbladet" considers that the USA is no longer a country to be trusted. "Anyone who wants to support freedom, justice, and security today must be a friend of Europe," it stresses. In a situation where nothing is as it should be, one cannot afford disorientation or despair.
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