HEADLINE: Africa must learn from Ukraine: The high cost of trusting superpowers with national destiny By SAVIOUS KWINIKA JOHANNESBURG (CAJ News) – AFRICAN leaders have been urged to learn from Ukraine’s devastating experience of war, diplomatic dependence and shifting Western priorities, with analysts warning that smaller nations risk abandonment when powerful allies change governments or strategic interests. The controversy surrounding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United States President Donald Trump highlights a fundamental geopolitical danger: countries can become frontline arenas for competing superpowers, only to discover that security guarantees may prove less enduring than their battlefield losses. For Africa, the lesson is clear: national sovereignty must never be sacrificed at the altar of foreign alliances without carefully examining the consequences for citizens. Under former US President Joe Biden, Washington provided Ukraine with extensive military assistance, intelligence, weapons and financial support. However, Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025 brought a dramatic reassessment of American policy towards Kyiv. Trump questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy because Ukraine had not held presidential elections since 2019, with his five-year term having ended in May 2024. However, Ukraine’s martial law framework has prevented elections during wartime, raising complex questions about democratic accountability and constitutional continuity. Rwandan political analyst Albert Rudatsimburwa told CAJ News Africa that Ukraine’s experience should serve as a warning to African governments. “The latest developments in Ukraine serve as a great lesson for Africa and its leaders,” he said. Rudatsimburwa questioned whether future Ukrainian administrations would honour agreements signed by the current government, particularly those involving strategic resources, foreign investment and military cooperation. “Nobody should assume that international alliances remain permanent. Your so-called enemy today might be your friend tomorrow,” he said, advocating stronger African unity and partnerships that deliver measurable benefits to citizens. Human rights lawyer and Zimbabwe Exiles Forum executive director Advocate Gabriel Shumba similarly urged African leaders to avoid rushed agreements driven by foreign geopolitical calculations. “For Africa, what is critical is self sufficiency and effective utilization of it's vast resource base for the benefit of the majority, rather than geopolitical dependency,” he said. Shumba also emphasised that changes in government do not automatically invalidate legally binding contractual commitments. “A contractual obligation by any state is not rendered unenforceable because of change of government,” he said. He invoked pacta sunt servanda, the principle that agreements must be performed in good faith, reflected in Article 26 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Its application depends on the agreement’s nature and the parties’ legal obligations; not every political promise constitutes a binding treaty. International relations expert Abbey Makoe offered a sharper criticism of Zelenskyy’s reliance on Western backing, questioning the human cost of a strategy dependent on continued foreign military assistance. “Daily, tens of thousands of Ukrainian fighters are decimated in the frontline. But Western media outlets driven by Russophobia continue to shore up Zelenskyy to fight until the last soldier, trusting in Western support for as long as it takes, as Biden would say. But then, Biden is history,” Makoe was quoted as saying. His underlying concern raises an important question for African policymakers: what happens when a smaller nation’s strategy depends on a foreign administration whose priorities can change dramatically? Ukraine’s predicament has been aggravated by disagreements among its Western partners. Hungary has opposed aspects of assistance to