U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive to deliver a joint press conference after participating in a U.S.-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. on Aug. 15, 2025. (Drew Angerer / AFP via Getty Images)
We’ve been here before. Multiple times. Not even that long ago.
President Donald Trump has appeared to be on the verge of taking a decisive step that could genuinely put pressure on Russia to make it end its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and then the phone rings.
“Hey Don, it’s Vlad — wanna chat?”
And puff, just like that all the momentum disappears and Russia is allowed to carry on its war unabated.
The latest installment of this particular Groundhog Day unfolded last night when Trump announced he had had a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the pair would be meeting in Budapest to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The timing was far from accidental.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is right now in Washington D.C. for a highly anticipated meeting with Trump later today.
Political momentum is on Ukraine’s side — Trump’s patience with Russia is running on fumes after months of the Kremlin refusing to agree to a ceasefire.
The U.S. president has been mulling sending Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles. Already battered by Ukrainian drones, Russian oil refineries would likely face devastation from these weapons, exacerbating an ongoing fuel crisis and further hammering Russia’s war economy.
The Kremlin is rattled. Economic forecasts are already dire, queues are forming at gas stations across the country, and Putin’s ability to wage war seems doubtful in the long term.
And then comes the phone call.
Anyone with even the slightest understanding of Russia’s lying, manipulation, and utter lack of will for a genuine peace deal can see what happens next.
Any big announcements of U.S. support planned for today will be put on hold while Trump scopes out Putin’s latest hollow offer.
Even by agreeing to the meeting, Trump is already falling for the trap and will once again be made to look like a fool.
Putin has offered nothing since Day 1 of Trump’s peace efforts, and has repeatedly stalled and delayed when it looked like the U.S. president was actually going to do what is needed to end the war — inflict pain on Russia, either economically or through force.
In May, Western powers including the U.S. looked set to impose tough new sanctions on Russia over its consistent refusal to agree to a ceasefire.
Putin suggested holding talks in Istanbul. Trump agreed. They went nowhere. The sanctions momentum disappeared.
Over the summer Trump’s patience began to wear thin. Threats were made. Putin suggested meeting in Alaska. Trump agreed. The talks went nowhere.
Since then Russia has only escalated its attacks. Here in the newsroom in Kyiv this morning, we described last night’s attack that had 70 kamikaze attack drones launched by Russia as “a quiet night.”
Trump has an opportunity today to do something that could genuinely make sure that a quiet night is as quiet as those we knew before the war.
All he has to do is not fall for Putin’s bullsh*t.
EU left in the dark about Trump-Putin meeting within its borders, questions its point
BRUSSELS, Belgium — A general sense of skepticism prevails among European officials and diplomats over U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of planned Ukraine peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Hungary. “We can only commend all efforts leading to a ceasefire and long-lasting peace in Ukraine,” a EU official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, told the Kyiv Independent. An EU diplomat noted that Washington appeared eager to capitalize on recent diplomatic moves in the Mid
