Russians Are Irritated by Vladimir Putin and Less Confident in a Quick End to the War with Kiev

Many Russians welcomed the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president because they believe he will be able to broker a peace deal in Ukraine that will satisfy the Kremlin. However, three months into Trump's second term in Moscow, Russians are increasingly disillusioned and less confident in a quick end to the war, The New York Times reports.

According to the publication, people close to the Kremlin are expressing disappointment both with Trump's impetuous approach to negotiations and with President Vladimir Putin's apparent inflexibility during the talks. Some of them fear that the failure of the negotiations could lead to a further escalation of hostilities.

At the same time, according to the NYT, the increasingly harsh warnings of the United States that its patience may be running out have not had the desired effect so far - Putin has not backed down from his refusal to accept the months-long ceasefire that Ukraine agreed to in March.

"Given Trump's lack of sympathy for Ukraine and his deepening conflict with American allies, Putin seems only to grow in confidence that Russia will eventually be able to defeat Ukraine in a war of attrition,“ the publication writes.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, some Kremlin officials are expressing despair at the ongoing situation.

Thus, one of the NYT interlocutors said that Putin has proven to be more adamant than expected on the issue of agreeing to a ceasefire and that he appears ready to continue the fight for full control of the four Ukrainian regions that he declared part of Russia in 2022.

Another source close to the Kremlin said that despite Putin's hours-long talks with Trump and Steve Witkov, the Russian president appeared to be trying to make it clear that he would not stop fighting without achieving his broader goals, such as preventing further NATO expansion.

"The Kremlin is trying to "diversify the negotiating portfolio" with the United States, including issues such as energy, the Arctic and spaceflight, so that rapprochement with Washington can continue even if the talks on Ukraine fail.

At the same time, some Russians believe that the White House's impatience is dictated by American politics, given Trump's campaign promise to end the war as soon as possible and that compromise is still possible. Fedor Voitolovsky, director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow, said he was surprised by Washington's "naivety" about how quickly peace could be achieved, but that both countries were "at the beginning of the path" to it.

"Russia will not sacrifice its interests and security to help Trump solve his domestic political problems," Voitolovsky said.

The end of the war in Ukraine

Trump had previously allowed his country to withdraw from peace talks in Ukraine. He suggested that he could simply remove himself from the negotiation process and leave everything to chance if the task seemed too difficult for him.

Former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace believes Trump's statement shows an awareness that his "peace plan" is close to a complete failure.

The New York Post reported earlier that a decision on a full ceasefire could be made next week.