Disillusioned with Putin: Will Trump realize Russia is deceiving him?

The U.S. government even temporarily lifted sanctions on Putin’s special envoy for economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, so that the Russian negotiator—and friend of Steve Witkoff—could obtain an American visa. That’s precisely who he’s heading to meet in the U.S. capital.  

It’s clear that this dynamic duo is set to spin yet another web of deception for Donald Trump. After all, one moment he talks about the possibility of secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, and the next, he’s asking the Finnish president during a golf game whether Putin can be trusted.  

Dmitriev and Witkoff could have easily met in Istanbul or Riyadh, but the Kremlin insisted on a visit to Washington. Why? To gradually normalize Putin’s regime in today’s America—as a business partner and the new status quo. Cynical, but that’s the reality.  

There’s no doubt these two will stall for time, offer Trump quick-profit deals, and push the narrative that Putin is reasonable and can be negotiated with. If that means discussing the legalization of occupied Ukrainian territories, they’ll sit down and consider it. At the very least, this would buy Putin time—time he plans to use for another summer military campaign, seizing more land to strengthen his position in the next round of negotiations.

Reuters reports that the Trump administration is unlikely to achieve a full ceasefire by April 20 or in May, prompting new pressure strategies on both Kyiv and Moscow. The key takeaway: both the victim and the aggressor will face pressure. This also explains why Putin’s so-called peace envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, rushed to Washington.  

U.S. negotiators—Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz—who spent considerable time engaging with Putin’s FSB and GRU representatives during talks in Saudi Arabia, are reportedly frustrated. However, others, including Trump himself, his blogger son, and J.D. Vance, seem open to profiting from deals with Russia.  

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 50 U.S. senators has introduced a bill proposing new sanctions against Russia and countries purchasing its oil if Putin refuses to engage in good-faith ceasefire negotiations or violates potential peace agreements. The bill’s lead sponsor, Republican Lindsey Graham, has been singled out as a key figure to watch—especially after Finnish President Alexander Stubb spent seven hours golfing in Mar-a-Lago in an effort at diplomacy.  

The proposed sanctions include a 500% tariff on imports from countries buying Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium. The bill also seeks to ban U.S. citizens from purchasing Russian sovereign debt and prohibit American financial institutions from investing in companies linked to the Russian government. This last measure may be precisely what Kirill Dmitriev is now in Washington to water down.  

Are these proposed sanctions significant? They could be stronger. For example, dismantling Russia’s shadow fleet, which delivers 70% of its oil, would have a far greater impact.

Hopefully, Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, will bring Trump a summary of a recent interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. “We have not heard from Trump a signal to Kyiv to end the war. All we have today is an attempt to find a certain scheme that would allow us to first achieve a ceasefire, as the Americans envision it. And then move on to some other models and schemes, which, as far as we can tell, do not yet include our main demand—solving the problems associated with the root causes of this conflict.”

We all know what the root cause of the conflict is according to Putin's version. The existence of Ukraine in its current form and Russia's inability to dismantle its sovereignty.

We can only hope that the narcissist Trump will finally realize that he is not just being fooled, but that he is being thrown off a skyscraper, just like in the cheap action movies of the 90s.

For Ukraine, this is evidence that elections are unlikely to be held in July. And the main seekers of mandates and positions should do something more mundane—help the Armed Forces, because Putin is still fighting and trying to grab more land.

It is important for Ukraine in this movie not to turn from the main character into something episodic and nameless. Even more so, it's important not to turn him into something that plays the role of a corpse in the first scene of a shootout between the main antagonists. 

Exclusively for Espreso

About the author: Maryna Danyliuk-Yarmolaieva, journalist.

The editorial team doesn't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.