Putin and Trump Take a ‘Win’ at Ukraine’s Expense

The results of Tuesday’s phone call between the presidents of the US and Russia were by any measure a win for President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin leader rejected the unconditional 30-day ceasefire on offer and suffered no consequences for doing so. He clearly sees his engagement with the US as a low-cost way of achieving his goals in Ukraine, and things are going swimmingly. What remains uncertain is just how much President Donald Trump is willing to give away to get a deal.

This presents a sharp dilemma for both Ukraine and Europe. Neither knows what was said in Tuesday’s hour-and-a-half phone call; they weren’t included. So as the American leader also declared himself a winner, they have to take on trust that his ultimate goals align with theirs. At a time when reasons for transatlantic trust are in short supply, both should assume the worst.

From Putin’s point of view, he has gotten the US-Russia dialogue on how to carve up Europe into security spheres that he always wanted — and that his invasions of Ukraine were in part designed to force. Before the call, he told his senior officials in the broadcast part of a meeting that his conversation with Trump would be a step toward restoring relations between Russia and the US. He didn’t discuss Ukraine at all.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, a man doing constant penance for having been too cozy with the West while keeping Putin’s seat warm in the Kremlin, trolled the result out in his typically crass way. “There is only Russia and America in the dining room,” and Europe and Ukraine are on the menu, he posted on Elon Musk’s X.