World news 233K views since yesterday

Bezsmertnyi challenges symbolism of Melania Trump's Ukraine-Russia delegation photo

The Ukrainian diplomat criticizes the White House lineup before arguing that Europe must build its security around its own capabilities.

Channel: 24 Kanal ·

UkraineStory of November 7, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of 24 Канал's most watched videos since yesterday, with 232,842 views.

24 Канал: A Ukrainian news channel from Lviv, on air since 2006. 9.1M subscribers and 19B views.

😮МЕГАСКАНДАЛ в США! Українська ДЕЛЕГАЦІЯ такого не чекала від МЕЛАНІЇ. ПОДИВІТЬСЯ. БЕЗСМЕРТНИЙ

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:05A White House photograph shows Ukrainian and Russian representatives interspersed; Bezsmertnyi argues the arrangement was deliberate.
3:54Bezsmertnyi criticizes the invitation's wording, interpreting the distinction between inviting and summoning as politically significant.
6:25He argues that historical defeats undermine assumptions that Russia's size and military reputation guarantee victory.
14:10He contrasts European civil-defense preparations with what he considers inadequate psychological readiness for war.
20:00He accuses French and Spanish leaders of avoiding acknowledgment of alleged Russian sabotage against infrastructure.
23:30He advocates combined European forces incorporating Ukraine, Norway, Britain and Canada rather than dependence on US protection.

Ukrainian and Russian representatives stand interspersed in a White House photograph. For Roman Bezsmertnyi, the arrangement carries a political message, not merely a photographer's choice.

In an interview with Ukraine's Channel 24 (24 Канал), the diplomat and former Ukrainian ambassador to Belarus argues that protocol staff deliberately arranged the group this way. He criticizes Ukraine's representatives for accepting a shared lineup, saying an experienced diplomat should have insisted on standing or sitting separately.

The broadcaster identifies the gathering as a meeting hosted by US first lady Melania Trump, with Ukraine represented by parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction. Bezsmertnyi interprets the photograph as suggesting that Washington treats Ukraine and Russia as a single whole. That is his reading of the image, rather than an explanation from the White House.

He also objects to the invitation's wording, drawing a distinction between inviting people and summoning them. In his view, the latter conveys superiority toward the delegations.

The discussion then widens from diplomatic presentation to military power. Asked whether Ukraine can defeat Russia, Bezsmertnyi challenges the idea that a larger state's resources make victory inevitable. He invokes Afghanistan, the Russo-Japanese War and the Sino-Vietnamese War as examples of the limits of military might, arguing that Russia's reputation for overwhelming strength rests heavily on historical myths.

Europe's preparations receive a similarly skeptical assessment. Bezsmertnyi describes civil-defense exercises and bomb-shelter preparations, but argues that material readiness has not been matched by public acceptance that war could reach European societies. He also accuses French and Spanish leaders of avoiding acknowledgment of what he describes as Russian sabotage against railways and power infrastructure.

His proposed answer is a combined European military capability that does not depend on Washington to guarantee its security. He argues that such a force would need Ukraine's battlefield experience, Norway's resources, and British and Canadian bases and capabilities. His conception of European defense therefore extends beyond the European Union's membership.

Published on Trari