Trump and Putin to Discuss Ukraine Ceasefire at Upcoming Alaska Summit

"...Trump will entertain a brutal war criminal whose critics are poisoned, imprisoned or dropped from high-story windows...."

"...Trump will generate international headlines with no grasp of the underlying history at issue...."

"...To its peril, Ukraine kept up its end of the deal — but Russia did not...."

"...Before Trump, the U.S. government upheld democratic values and international order, including respect for sovereignty and existing borders, as a matter of self-preservation...."

"...Enter Donald Trump, who promised to end the Russian-Ukraine war on 'day one' of his second term, a promise he now calls 'sarcasm.'..."

"...Rejecting NATO’s interests, and dismissing military alliances that have kept America safe since World War II, the president has instead consistently advanced Putin’s interests...."

"...Trump has paved Putin’s way on several fronts...."

"...In the wake of Russia’s invasion, he publicly praised and failed to condemn Putin’s brutality in Ukraine, calling the Russian president a 'genius' and 'savvy' for his attacks...."

"...Since then, Trump has publicly blamed Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, bizarrely stating in February that Ukraine 'should have never started' the war...."

"...Echoing Putin’s propaganda campaign, Trump has labeled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 'a dictator without elections.'..."

"...Trump has repeatedly criticized the amount of military aid provided to Ukraine...."

"...Following the public humiliation of Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in February, when Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance insulted the Ukrainian president in a made-for-Fox-News-and-Putin televised takedown, Trump directed his administration to halt military aid...."

"...There’s little doubt that Trump has nursed deep, personal animus toward Zelenskyy ever since the American president was caught in 2019 trying to condition military aid on an 'investigation' into then-former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, which Zelenskyy never did...."

"...There’s also little doubt that Trump is openly protecting Putin’s interests...."

"...The question is: Why?..."

"...Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts...."

"...There has long been speculation, but no hard evidence, that Putin possesses kompromat or career-ending evidence about Trump...."

"...Perhaps Putin is holding proof of steps he took to assure Trump’s electoral wins, and is threatening to go public if Trump crosses him...."

"...Perhaps Trump really is a Russian asset, as some have speculated...."

"...Or perhaps Trump is neck-deep in Russian money laundering schemes, including the financing of Trump Tower, going back to the 1990s...."

"...The only thing that’s certain at this point is that the president’s on-again, off-again efforts to look like he’s 'pressuring' Putin somehow never materialize...."

"...Last week, Trump 'declared' that peace between Russia and Ukraine would involve 'some swapping of territories,' which parrots Russia’s demands for territorial concessions from Ukraine...."

"...He then invited Putin to a personal Ukraine 'summit' in Alaska, as if carving up nations after a meal were a game of Monopoly...."

"...By inviting Putin to meet on American soil, Trump is conferring legitimacy on a mass murderer who is credibly accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC)...."

"...Putin has been isolated since 2023, when the ICC issued arrest warrants for him and several advisors for crimes against humanity...."

"...The Russian president has since been unable to travel outside his country, because many of the ICC’s 125 member states have agreed to arrest and detain him if he sets foot on their territories...."

"...The crimes for which the ICC issued the warrants include well-documented abductions of over 19,000 Ukrainian children aged four months to 17 years...."

"...The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab is tracking Russia’s systematic campaign to kidnap Ukrainian children and move them to Russia, where they are issued new identities and advertised for adoption after they undergo 're-education' to erase their emotional connection to their families, language and heritage...."

"...As Ukrainian parents wail, Putin has set up an online 'catalog of Ukrainian children,' a photo database searchable by personal characteristics such as size and hair color...."

"...The Alaska 'summit' will be Putin’s first international trip since the warrants...."

"...European leaders have questioned the invitation, while Russians are crowing that it is a national 'coup,' since Trump’s invitation came without any concessions from Putin...."

"...A King’s College professor of Russian history declared the symbolism of Alaska as the summit’s backdrop as 'horrendous — as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold.'..."

"...No one knows for sure what the outcome will be...."

"...According to a Wednesday exclusive report by The Times, Trump and Putin are planning to propose a 'West Bank-style occupation of Ukraine.'..."

"...Whatever happens, it’s a safe bet that Trump will issue platitudes that sound tough on Russia while delivering Putin’s ultimate goal: Cementing his territorial gains in Ukraine, thereby rewarding Russia for its aggression...."

"...Zelenskyy will reject the plan, Trump will demand the Nobel Peace Prize and pundits will continue to wonder if Putin’s get-out-of-jail-free card is a product of blackmail...."