The US President’s desire to impose himself as mediator in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia had already been widely ridiculed for several weeks, and today this ambition seems completely discredited.
A top Kremlin aide has accused Donald Trump of being “not sufficiently informed” about the situation in Ukraine after the US president said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire."
After his recent statement calling Putin « crazy » was mocked by the Russian media, the Kremlin’s retort describing him as emotional starkly illustrates Trump’s loss of control over negotiations he still thought he had under control.
Trump, who has been trying to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine since even before he took office, claiming during his campaign that the war would end on his first day in office, now seems taken aback by the complete unwillingness of Russia, and Putin in particular, to engage seriously in a process to resolve the conflict.
Instead of moving towards diplomacy, Putin has instead stepped up hostilities, launching some of the most powerful strikes on Ukraine since the invasion began.
These actions recently provoked a violent reaction from Trump on Truth Social, where he said he couldn’t understand what had possessed Putin to act in this way, going so far as to claim that Putin had « gone completely CRAZY ».
Trump followed this up in another post, claiming that Putin was playing with fire, also declaring, « What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that without me, a lot of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. » This outburst soon provoked strong reactions from the Russian media and the Kremlin alike.
According to the BBC, the Kremlin called Trump’s reaction « emotional overload » and claimed he was « uninformed about Ukraine ». Trump said he was giving Putin two weeks to demonstrate he was serious about peace in Ukraine, failing which he would (perhaps) consider punitive measures against Russia.
Russian state media, such as RT, openly mock the American president, ridiculing his threats to Moscow and emphasizing his alarmist tone, even suggesting that he might contradict himself the very next day.
Meanwhile, faced with the absence of American aid, Ukraine has strengthened its military ties with Europe and has just signed a security agreement with Germany.
This partnership provides for long-term support, including the delivery of sophisticated weapons and, possibly, long-range missiles, with the aim of strengthening the country’s defense against Russia by expanding its offensive capabilities and securing lasting support from Berlin.
