Kremlin playbook US lured into talks on Russia's own terms

When Steve Witkoff's jet lands in Moscow this week, the US envoy and longtime friend of Donald Trump will clock up his fourth visit to Russia in a year.

- Pjotr Sauer

It's a pointed gesture, given that Witkoff abruptly cancelled a trip that was meant to see him and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, touch down in London for talks with Kyiv and its European allies yesterday.

The decision by Rubio and the 68-year-old real estate executive - who holds no formal diplomatic credentials - underscores growing tensions between Trump's inner circle and Ukraine. The two US officials are reportedly furious with Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he pushed back against a proposal from the Trump administration to recognise Russia's illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea.

For Moscow, it was the latest symbolic victory in its ongoing efforts to pull the US closer to its side. Yesterday Trump launched a fresh tirade against Zelenskyy, blaming him for the lack of progress on a peace deal.

In a post on his own Truth Social platform, Trump referred to the Ukrainian president as "the man with 'no cards to play'," and said he faced a stark choice. "The situation for Ukraine is dire," he wrote. "He can have peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country."

From the start, Vladimir Putin, flanked by aides with decades of diplomatic experience, has worked to present Russia to Trump as the reasonable party in the conflict - and Ukraine and Europe as the ones standing in the way of peace.

That narrative appeared to be gaining traction in Washington - until Kyiv pushed back, effectively calling Putin's bluff by demanding an unconditional ceasefire, which Moscow promptly rejected.