The U.S. president has made concession after concession to Putin without requiring any reciprocity, sending a glaring message of weakness,” Rubin writes.

In threatening to walk away from efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the US president is ignoring crucial lessons about the consequences of appeasement.

After Trump’s third phone call with Putin since his inauguration, it appears there will be no letup in fighting and less U.S. pressure on Moscow.

The West has been applying pressure on Russia to end the war for three years, since Putin’s initial invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The 1998 crisis worsened the situation, as a global recession and falling commodity prices led to fiscal imbalances and doubts about Russia’s ability to service its debt and uphold the fixed exchange rate. The central bank raised interest rates to 150% to try and stabilise the rouble, but this failed.

The Russian leader traveled to the region in the west of the country where a surprise incursion last year embarrassed Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin outplayed everyone again — the Europeans lost their ultimatum, and the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, with sanctions. This was stated by Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Dubinsky.