Key Points and Summary – Donald Trump promised to end the Ukraine war “on day one,” assuming Vladimir Putin would accept favorable terms and pivot to better U.S.-Russia ties.
-Nine months on, Russia keeps pounding Ukrainian cities while Kyiv hits back at energy infrastructure; a Putin–Zelenskyy meeting is nowhere in sight.
President Donald Trump is joined by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vice President JD Vance, British Ambassador Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, while announcing a trade agreement with the U.K., Thursday, May 8, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins)
-Reporting from CNN and Politico suggests Trump misread Putin’s goals—Alaska talks hinted at fresh offensives, not peace.
-With support wobbling, the White House now signals tougher sanctions, potentially in concert with the EU. The episode undercuts claims Trump is beholden to Putin yet highlights a different problem: limited leverage over Moscow’s battlefield calculus.
Trump Misread Putin: Why the War Didn’t End—and What Comes Next
Donald Trump spent a lot of time on the campaign trail in 2024 claiming that he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine on his first day in office, while also blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the war beginning in the first place. In fact, Trump promised more than 50 times to end the war.
Trump likely came back into office thinking that Russian President Vladimir Putin, his longtime ally, would agree to end the war if Trump offered terms generally favorable to him. And this would lead to better relations between the U.S. and Russia, including a closer business and trade relationship.
But it hasn’t turned out that way, or anywhere close to it.
In Trump’s ninth month back in office, the war continues, with Russia continuing to hammer Ukrainian cities, and Ukraine launching successful strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Trump’s meetings last month with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have not served to bring about the end of the war, nor have continued sanctions. It doesn’t appear that the long-stated goal of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting is likely to happen anytime soon, either.
By this week, Trump was admitting that he was pessimistic about the war ending anytime in the near future, and was even expressing that he is ready to launch a new round of sanctions on Russia. With the EU preparing another round of sanctions, there could be transatlantic sanctions on Russia for the first time since Trump came back into office.
A new analysis looks at how Trump misread Putin’s intentions, leading to the war continuing.
A Continuing Misread
The CNN analysis, by Nick Paton Walsh, argues that “Trump’s misreading of Russia has cost Ukraine. Now Putin is making his intentions clearer than ever.”
Paton Walsh argues that Trump believed that in the August Alaska summit, “he could somehow, through force of personality, convince his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that he wanted a peace deal.”
Trump had misjudged the circumstances and believed that Russia valued ending the war on peaceful terms, and that its relationship with the United States was more important to Putin than victory in Ukraine.
This miscalculation, according to the analysis, “has cost Ukraine dearly – in terms of the public shakiness of its American support, and by providing a window in which Russia’s forces could coldly plough forward on the front lines – valuable and obvious lessons have been learned, again, by Washington.”
Per Politico, Trump should have been disabused of the notion that Putin was pursuing peace during his meeting with Putin in Alaska when, according to Zelenskyy, Putin told Trump that the Donbas region would fall within three or four months.
“That is, he [Putin] says that in three to four months, and this is what he told the Americans, the White House, and President Trump’s representative Witkoff, he said that he would take Donbas in two to three months, maximum four months,” Zelenskyy said, in an interview this week with ABC News.
Conspiracies Disproved
Ironically, what’s happened with Russia and Ukraine in Trump’s second term has disproved one of the leading anti-Trump conspiracy theories of Trump’s first term: The idea that Trump was somehow beholden to Putin, and even that Trump was an agent or puppet of the Russian leader.
The events of the last nine months, if anything, have shown that Putin doesn’t much care what Trump thinks, and that Trump is perfectly willing to trash his Russian counterpart, as well as express disappointment in him.
And while it shows that Trump isn’t really beholden to Trump, the alternative – that he has no control over the situation — might be even more embarrassing for him.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
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Jim
September 11, 2025 at 7:31 pm
Trump did want to end the war, but on the Keith Kellog peace terms. I suspect he was lead to believe, initially, when coming into office and early in his term, that Russia was suffering significant losses and would succumb to accepting the Kellog plan for a 30 day unconditional cease fire (with the idea the war would never restart again).
It didn’t happen because Trump was mislead in his beliefs, but he also wanted to believe it, so he could tell his MAGA supporters, “I ended the war.” And tell the Washington Establishment, at the same time, who supported the war, “I got 80% of Ukraine into a NATO adjacent state status, that’s a win.”
Trump saw the brass ring of a Win-Win outcome as a distinct possibility.
And Trump waited for Russia to accept the Kellog plan, but it became apparent over time Russia wouldn’t accept it. (Which the Russians were always clear about, they wouldn’t accept the Kellog plan or any form of NATO-ization for Ukraine.)
Alaska was about a photo op and Trump hoped to skip over any “cease fire” and go “right to a final peace plan” in the days following the Alaska Summit, but still with the basic Kellog framework of a Ukraine free to be NATO-ized later over time.
At Alaska, Putin and the Russians made it quite clear there would be no agreement which lead to a NATO-ization of Ukraine, that’s why the Summit was shortened by a couple of hours, because there was nothing more to talk about.
So, yes, Trump can’t end the war because he doesn’t want to cross the Washington Establishment (or his own preference) who see a NATO-ized Ukraine as the bare minimum they were willing to accept to end the war.
The Washington Establishment (and the Trump administration, too) can’t stomach the idea of a neutral Ukraine… but that’s what it takes to end the war.
A peace treaty of neutrality for Ukraine.
There is little evidence Trump will accept neutrality for Ukraine, nor anybody else in the West, so the war continues, and certainly not the Kiev leadership. And, sadly, because of that hard, non-negotiable position the issue looks to be settled on the battlefield with more death & destruction until one side loses the war.
Could Trump change his mind?
Anything’s possible, but there’s no indication Trump is willing to accept that outcome because it’s hard to portray it as anything other than a loss (which Trump can’t tolerate).
There is a peace deal to be had, but it requires neutrality for Ukraine… Trump accepting a Russian outcome of the war looks very unlikely at this point.
Swamplaw Yankee
September 11, 2025 at 11:57 pm
Oh, those op-ed keyboarders that go agit-prop.
The Genocide of Ukrainians is a ancient, long ago genetic need of the ethnic russkie tribal mongols. That the Fascist Putin has outwitted a whole platter of POTUS heads + places a baked apple in their Presidential mouth, something in their rear, is a tangible visible reality.
Is the focus on this one MAGA POTUS useful?
The LONG GAME is what the Yankee Doodle Dandy needs to read about + grasp. The years prior to 2014 were the key “LONG GAME” years when Putin’s NAZI-like FSB invested Moscows Cash into huge networks of latent agitators, primed to ignite in revolt to re-play Moscow’s very successful 1932-33 FREE real estate theft game.
These progeny of the original russkie parasitic thieves, back then in 1933 Halloween costumed in Stalinist outfits, violently dreamed that tsarling Putin enact a replay in 2014 of the 1933 genocide of 20,000, 000 Ukrainians.
In 2014, dressed in FSB Halloween costumes, the russkie speaking offspring were ignited by the NAZI-like FSB to violent traitorous betrayal of their Ukrainian hosts. As Putin’s NAZI-like FSB ignited their latent networks of russkie speakers, immediate basement butchery of Ukrainian families began. Local parasite russkies started to collect “Lolita” packages to trade with Putin’s, Obama greenlit, “little green groomer” military sex traders. The POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal made zero effort to stop Putin’s immediate business venture to mass abduct Ukrainians.
That the above op-ed keyboarders refuse to reveal the LONG GAME Putin committed to pre-2014 is truly revealing. The prevailing MSM fantasy is that millions of russian speakers who moved in 1933 into the homes of the 20,000,000 million HOLODOMOR starvation victims, were somehow oppressed by Stalin, et al, to the point that they needed in 2014 to steal FREE real estate from the remaining original Ukrainians.
Yeah, stealing thousands of acres of rich farmland, free working barns, free homes, free high price businesses as the 2014 russkie parasites facilitated the front line of Genocide seems to be studiously avoided as a 2025 MSM topic.
tsarling Putin has come thru for the russkie parasites with his promise of FREE real estate and FREE “Lolita” packages for all ethnic russkies who push at rifle point the captive non-russkies into the meat grinder front line of Genocide. The russkie muscovites love and adore Putin as they no longer have to “Harvest” Ukrainian children with sex trade caravans through the hinterlands of Ukraine, as they did back in 1614. The computer makes mass abduction air delivery so convenient for any russkie deviant.
The op-ed canard that MAGA POTUS Trump + his MAGA elite cared in Trump 1 or now in Trump 2 about this ancient 1000 year old long-term Genocide of Ukrainians can be disproven. Who has the documented facts in a neat bibliography?
That the op-ed all focus on who did what, when in the 3 ring circus of the last 9 months proves what? That the weirdo Whackkooff slime show clowns rival the Fellini 3 ring circus in Fillini’s film: 8 1/2.
The LONG GAME was funded by tsarling Putin way before 2014, just waiting for a betrayer POTUS to come along and sell out Ukraine + Blatantly Betray the WEST to NATO’s prime vile cold war enemy, tsarling Putin.
The op-ed crowd needs to reveal in detail when the LONG GAME was sealed with Xi? How + where the PRC CCP Xi regime directs their vast US supplied funds to the military needs of their vassal, Putin, is where the WEST wins or vanishes.
There much “kitman” ( deceit) from the russkie muscovite butchers. Kovartstvo for the Komrade zzhhiimmm shills. The inability of MAGA POTUS + elite to demand the return of all illegally occupied ancient Ukrainian soil is the prime indicator that they are not competent to be leaders of the WEST, and even more idiotic, that they self-appoint themselves to dismember Ukraine, who the USA pushed into the 2014 restart of the ancient 1000 year old Genocide of Ukrainians by the blood thirsty ruusskie ethnic monghol type butchers. -30-
Jim
September 12, 2025 at 9:59 am
Some people attempt to distract your attention from what’s staring you in the face, and happening now, instead of recent past events.
Ukraine, during its whole time of being independent was the most corrupt country in Europe, no one disputes that.
Ukraine before the war started was the biggest Black Market Hub in the World, with Child Sex Trafficking and Adult White Slavery (not something alleged from 200 years ago) and if it was immoral or illegal, you could get it for a price in Ukraine.
Ukraine while having potentially the greatest natural resource base in Europe, sans Russia, was the poorest country per capita in Europe. Why? Because the Ukrainian oligarchs mostly skimmed off the top of the economy and didn’t build their economy, they only cared about their own wealth & power, not the welfare of the average Ukrainian.
Ukraine is a corrupt cesspool with a hyper-chauvinist ideology of hating Russians (wanting to murder them) which has no place in today’s Europe… better to focus on alleged past wrongs than on the real wrongs of today.
Swamplaw Yankee
September 13, 2025 at 2:59 am
Yoo: the three stooges of Moscow appear!
As pot headed slapstick keyboarding agit-prop.
And, yoo, the return to the oldest Commie Lavrow word trick: Evidence, The russkie ethnic peasant butcher will not accept verbal defeat in the present: The trick: send the butcher the evidence, please, sometimes in the future.
The ruuskie ethnic peasant dresses up in period Halloween costumes to pop out and mass abduct the children. In 1932-33 the russkie ethnic butcher parasite invaded Ukraine to starve 20,000,000 Ukrainians in the HOLODOMOR. Naturally, in 2025 out of the muscovite we hear that this is all alleged, an allegation. The real number is way less, as the russkie peasant butcher progeny heard the real number from their grandpop, aka, the thief of Ukrainian real estate!
It is like an Armenian ( remember that mass butchery) in 2025 asking the muslim progeny to start the lang overdue compensation, reparation payments for the muslim led butchery. The muslim progeny whine, from their FREE real estate, where’s the evidence. Send the evidence sometimes in the way distant future.
Notice how in 1922, the brave Bolshevik russkies did zip to stop the Smyrna genocide of Christians so very close, right next door to Crimea.
So, millions of parasite ruuskie ethnic butchers said, “let us grab all that vacant Ukrainian , therefore, FREE real estate for ourselves. And, we in Bolshevik Halloween costumes demand that the surviving few Ukrainians never mention that parasite ruusskies demand eternally to be ruusskie speakers in your land.”
Or, did Baptists and Episcopalians from the USA move into all those vacant homes and businesses?
Many times reference is made to the centuries of mass abduction of Ukrainians by the russkie mongol tribesmen. Yes, it was legal for muscovite deviants to “Harvest” children in Ukraine, persoanlly satiate yourself, and then, travel to the dungeon fort of Caffe, to sell for gold the Christian child to muslim Ottoman slave traffickers.
What about the year 1616? Hmmm. The gold laden ruuskie sex traders were chased by Ukrainian fathers from the muslim dungeeon fort back to their wives in Moscow.
Yeah. When wearing the Imperial Halloween costumes, the ruusskie peasant abolished slavery sex trade in Mosow. But, they kept missing the easy cash and kept sex slavery legal in their Khanates. Again, a word trick to fool the Western moral code, which the ruusskies never wished for.
As everyone knows the russkie peasant slaver elite kept all captive Ukrainians living in Ukraine under legal permanent ruusskie slavery, serfdom. While the negro slaves were dancing inside Canada, even the USA as freed by Lincoln, Ukrainians were starved, cashless and with no industrial history.
Yes, the russkkies wanted their czars and palaces pampered to compete with the Anglo-Saxons.
The Ukrainian killing ruusskie ethnic was re-started in 2014 in this ancient Genocide by the POTUS Obama Democrat Cabal.
The LONG GAME of Putin’s NAZI-like FSB started many years earlier. Putin allocated huge ruble amounts for the NAZI-like FSB to long lay latent agitator networks through out Ukraine. There were many parasite Ruuskies still in the FREE real estate from the 1932-33 starvation Genocide. They were promised what they wanted most. More FREE “Lolita” packages and unlimited Ukrainian FREE real estate.
The 2025 agit prop out of the Putin regime makes it out as if Russians who for 80 years lived in FREE in some one else’s real estate suddenly had an ethnic urge to speak Russian at home with a fully armed NAZI type FSB agent. Putin gave the signal to ignite the latent networks to start coordinated civil unrest all the while Basement Butchering Ukrainian families for their re-start of the family business in “Lolita” packaging.
The independent Ukraine of centuries of Cossacks + President Symon Petlura is never mentioned as the killer butchers were: let all hear it! Ruuskie Paeasant ethnics.
The need for the vile and guilty to avoid their past crimes against humanity is so evident. The repeated urge to forget the 1000 years of various Halloween costumes used by the generations of genetically tuned Russkie Genociders, is used openly in 2025.
The recent is also not that popular a topic in the MSM + with MAGA POTUS Elite. Abused and tortured Ukrainian civilians, children and POW’s at the hands of NORMAL ruusskie butchers are there as evidence on video by the thousands. The need for $10,000,000 in compensation, reparation for each victim is sadly overlooked.
The population of the WEST needs education about the past history of Ukraine. With exposure comes knowledge. The French now have laws that prohibit much Free Speech.
The anti-Ukrainian vitriol from Putin’s Fascist structure would not see the light on a printed page in France. The wonderful US Constitution as defended by US judges has allowed the above Ruusskie flavoured agit-prop but also allows a rebuttal. The Yankee Doodle Dandy gets to process the data, compare, learn and indulge in his own free speech. -30-
Swamplaw Yankee
September 13, 2025 at 7:31 am
The longest slave market in the world: was it not run by muslims in Ukraine. Mostly the Ottoman muslims just paid off Muscovite sex traders in Gold for centuries as the russkie peasant butchers traded in the abused Christian Ukrainian children they were tired of for muslim gold.
There is a free film, Kyiv is mine, where in Chapter 2 the bodies in Irpin, Bucha of civilian victims of Russkie Peasant butchers are shown tortured, sexually abused, tied up and executed. Children missing.
The inner need, the genetic coding hidden deep inside Russkie butchers that springs out to mass murder Ukrainians just is so, so evident in the documentary film imagery.
Give a Halloween Costume to a muscovite ruusskie ethnic, any era, Stalin, Czar, Putin FSB, and the mass abductor butcher just comes out of the “NORMAL” appearing ruusskie mongol descendent.
The Inner Beltway brain trust just can not process and grasp that 1000 year time frame spent in butchering Ukrainians. The many months I spent in DC or any of the EAST coast cities, Doodle Dandies had zero grasp of butchers in Tanks blowing up Silver Springs, Annapolis, King of Prussia urban centres. What came closest inside the US? Maybe the curfews when helicopters circled, rioters burned, shot and pilfered sections of say, Baltimore.
The Yankee USA is just still too young a state to feel the evil that has emanated out of the “NORMAL” russkie orcs for 1000 years. MAGA POTUS Trumpkins can still bullshit + glibly self-ignore that in the POTUS office he willingly touched the hands of a mass abductor, human trafficker of children. -30-