The dynamics between Trump and Putin have taken an unexpected turn. Initially, after Trump’s ascend to the presidency, Russia appeared to be in a favourable position. The newly elected president displayed a considerable amount of respect towards Putin and it seemed like Putin was about to achieve a significant advantage in his campaign against Ukraine. However, Russia’s strategic moves were not as successful as they could have been.
Trump made a pledge during his electoral campaign to swiftly end the conflict in Ukraine. Upon his assumption of presidency, his government wasn’t very supportive of Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO, demonstrating a willingness to concede the Ukrainian territories Russia had seized. The government of the United States was not very enthusiastic about investing heavily in Ukraine’s defence and even showed openness to accepting Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea.
In fact, this peace gesture from Trump accommodated many of Russia’s objectives in the war. But then the trip of Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office in February turned out to be exceedingly disappointing. During a live broadcast, Trump disparaged Zelensky, referring to him as an unappreciative person and pointed out that his ‘cards’ were not in order.
Trump also expressed, at this time, that Putin had been unfairly targeted due to a witch hunt in America. The U.S. started to pressure Ukraine into entering an agreement that would surrender a significant fraction of its mineral resources. This situation created an ideal opportunity for Russia, just in the nick of time.
Russia had paid a heavy price with the loss of approximately 250,000 soldiers in the conflict. Its economic state was also not very stable. Despite these challenges, with an understanding president leading America, Putin found himself on the verge of declaring victory.
On the other hand, Putin was not prepared to make any compromise. Mirroring his actions during Ukraine’s invasion back in 2022, he was confident that he could achieve everything he desired. He committed a critical error in overconfidence and repeatedly ignored Trump’s advocacies for a cease-fire. Consequently, he sustained attacking Ukraine with devastating drone strikes.