Source: The Atlantic
by Andrew Ryvkin
“For years, Putin claimed that direct talks with Ukraine were impossible because President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government was illegitimate and, more important, Ukraine wasn’t a real country — merely a proxy for the American imperial project. He framed the war as a conflict that only Russia and the U.S. could resolve, in a Yalta-style deal between great powers — preferably in occupied Yalta itself. Along came Trump, who repeatedly sidelined Ukraine and the EU to speak with Putin one-on-one. Putin looked set to get what he wanted. But then that changed, as all things Trump tend to do: By May, Putin wasn’t carving up Europe with Trump — he was competing with Zelensky to convince the White House that the other side was out of control.” (06/16/25)