‘You cannot trust Putin. The only thing he understands is force’

THERE is an expression in Ukrainian called “Spanish shame”, meaning embarrassment at the shameful or ridiculous actions of another.

- JOHN MARONE

For many here in Ukraine, US president Donald Trump’s red carpet treatment of indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin in Alaska exemplifies this expression fairly accurately.

Anatoliy, 76, is a pensioner who had his modest dacha shot up when the Russian army occupied northern Kyiv region in early 2022.

He described last Friday’s summit as sad but predictable, adding: “They rolled out the red carpet for him [Putin], shook hands and that was it.”

But having lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union and the last 11 years of war, he is not worried and has faith in Europe.

Anatoliy said: “Europe has not abandoned us. We will carry on with them. America has not given us any weapons lately anyway.”