"Putin Played His Cards Badly."

Now Trump is criticizing the Kremlin, not Zelensky.

The relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has recently escalated. The reason for this is that the Russian president has poorly "played his cards" on engaging with his American counterpart.

This is reported by The New York Times.

The journalists note that during the campaign, Trump promised to quickly end the war in Ukraine. When he took office, his administration was skeptical of Ukraine's NATO aspirations, likely willing to allow Russia de facto control of captured Ukrainian territory, unwilling to spend much on Kiev's defense, and allegedly even willing to recognize Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea. It was a peace proposal that could allow Russia to achieve many of its military objectives.

Then came Vladimir Zelensky's disastrous visit to the Oval Office in February. Trump humiliated Zelensky on live television, calling him "ungrateful," insisting: "You don't have the cards right now." He also said Putin was the victim of an "American witch hunt". The U.S. began pressuring Ukraine to sign an agreement to hand over much of its mineral wealth.

All of this happened at the perfect time for Russia. The aggressor country had lost many soldiers in the war. Its economy was weak. But with an American president favorable to her, Putin was close to victory.

"But Putin was not ready for peace. As he did when he invaded Ukraine in 2022, he believed he could get whatever he wanted. In his arrogance, he repeatedly rejected Trump's insistence on a cease-fire. He continued to hit Ukraine with horrific drone attacks," the journalists noted.

In the meantime, the Kremlin chief also continued his offensive on the battlefield, attempting to seize more land and weaken the Ukrainian government. While his exact intentions are unclear, some U.S. officials believe he wants to occupy Kherson, Odessa or even Kiev. U.S. officials consider these ambitions delusional.

Trump has watched all of this with growing alarm. In April, after Russian missile and drone fire on Ukraine, Trump wrote online, "I am not happy with Russian strikes on Kiev. Vladimir, stop!".

How Trump now feels about Putin

Trump is now criticizing Putin, not Zelensky. After a series of phone calls with Putin this year, it looks like Trump has changed his mind about the man. The American president has bluntly stated that he is unhappy with Putin because he is killing Ukrainians.

"Putin is showering us with a lot of nonsense, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," the US president said.

The journalists emphasize that if those words had come from almost any other politician in Washington, they would not have come as a surprise. But the fact that Trump said them shows how much Putin has alienated the White House - and potentially lost his chance for peace talks.

Trump also resumed arms shipments to Ukraine after a brief pause by the Pentagon. Senate Republicans are pushing for a new package of sanctions against Russia. Trump is considering the proposal.

In addition, promises of support from Europe and increased air defenses from the United States will make it very difficult for Putin to end the war in Ukraine by force.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com