Updated on 09.08.2025 – 1:29 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
At times it looked as if Trump was losing patience with Putin and striking a harder gait. Instead, he is now courting the Kremlin chief.
For Kreml boss Putin, the week could hardly have run better. President Donald Trump had actually threatened him with new sanctions if Russia should not adjust his attacks on Ukrainian civilians by Friday and are involved in serious discussions with Kiev. None of the conditions fulfilled Putin. But instead of proving the war criminal with new punishments, Trump has now rewarded him with an invitation to the USA – the first since 2015.
On Easter Sunday, Putin surprisingly announced a one -sided fire break along the entire front until the end of Easter. His troops continued to fire unabated, but the image of a Kremlin chief, which was ready to talk, got stuck in public. And because Ukraine did not want to get involved in a disadvantageous stop of the mutual attacks on energy systems, Kiev then stood there as an unwilling time. Trump took this as an opportunity to put Kyiv under pressure instead of Moscow.
This time, too, it can be assumed that Putin only simulates his willingness to negotiate in order to ward off new sanctions. In fact, he is still likely to believe in a military victory against Ukraine. Only in June Putin publicly confirmed his maximum claim of a total submission of the country.
