Trump's controversial praise as Russia escalates attacks
Initially, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Russia for their negotiations and criticized Ukraine, only for Moscow to launch a massive attack on Kyiv and Kharkiv a few hours later. "It's Putin playing the fool with Trump," assesses retired Colonel Maciej Matysiak, former Deputy Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service and an expert at the Stratpoints Foundation.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, deploying 70 missiles and 145 drones. Air defense managed to shoot down 48 rockets and 64 drones of various types. At least nine people died in the massive Russian attack on Kyiv, and more than 70 were injured. In Kharkiv, officials are still assessing the damage from seven rocket attacks, and as of now, there is no information about casualties.
A few hours prior, when asked at the White House about ongoing negotiations to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv is currently the main obstacle to reaching a peace agreement.
"I think Russia is ready and a lot of people said Russia wanted to go for the whole thing. And I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelenskyy. I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelenskyy. So far, it's been harder… but, I think we have a deal with both," Trump said. He indicated that he may soon meet with Vladimir Putin and suggested that it could happen in May.
According to Jerzy Marek Nowakowski, the massive Russian attacks on Ukraine serve as their negotiation tactic.
"The best way for Putin to come to terms with the Ukrainians will be to agree with the last living Ukrainian. The Russians are clearly escalating the attacks. It is a negotiation tactic similar to Donald Trump's. It's a mirror reflection," Nowakowski, a historian and diplomat, former director of the Senate's International Studies Center, tells WP. Trump promises a lot to achieve negotiation success, whereas the Russians strike and attack civilians to gain a similar success.
In his view, even worse, the Russian attacks do not seem to irritate Trump, and Russia believes it is not making any mistakes during negotiations.
"On the contrary, Putin shows that if Ukraine does not accept his terms, he can cause even more damage. Moreover, the Russian leader wants to convey that he has no ambitions to occupy Kyiv, hence he is okay with bombing the Ukrainian capital. Previously, Putin wanted to occupy Kyiv, so he spared it. Now he has changed his stance and says, 'Please, take it yourself,''' the expert believes.
Nowakowski interprets Trump's remarks about Kyiv hindering negotiations as "an attempt to soften Ukraine."
"It aligns with Russia's direction. Just as former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev once spoke about Georgia forcing it to peace. Of course, peace understood as capitulation. Today, Trump is heading in that direction," comments Jerzy Marek Nowakowski.
Meanwhile, retired Colonel Maciej Matysiak views the massive Russian attacks and Trump's stance as the result of several factors.
"First, Putin is executing his plan. There have even been reports from the Kremlin indicating that the previous attack on Sumy, which claimed 34 lives, was deliberate. I can't say if it's fake news, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were true." No restraints are visible from the Russian side. It is undisputedly a sequence of war crimes, says retired Colonel Maciej Matysiak, former Deputy Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service and an expert at the Stratpoints Foundation, to WP.
He continues, "Secondly, we see that the Trump administration's approach to negotiations has been undermining its own position from the start. The White House's priorities diverge greatly from our assessment of this criminal assault on the weaker party. Their priority is not a just peace, but a quick resolution to the conflict. There's even talk of 'arranging' a Nobel Peace Prize for Trump. Additionally, Trump is focusing on business dealings with Russia," Matysiak outlines.
He emphasizes that Putin's behavior today resembles that of the Soviet Union during Stalin's time, bringing all of Eastern Europe into its sphere of influence.
"Much like Stalin, Putin disregards anyone else. While attacking Ukraine might seem foolish, it is not from Putin’s and Russia’s perspective. In Moscow, the prerogatives are entirely different. Putin believes he’s acting in the best way. This has always been Russia's modus operandi — to operate from a position of strength, exert pressure, and observe the outcomes. Any assurance of wanting peace is as false as anything else. It's Putin playing the fool with Trump," concludes the former SKW deputy head.
