Will Russians Tire Of Trump? Probably Not
Trump has announced that he’s reached a deal with Ukraine, and so now it’s up to Russia to give Trump the go ahead to bring about permanent peace. Presumably, Trump will blame Putin if peace doesn’t break out. What could go wrong?
Mega Geopolitics @MegaGeopolitics
BREAKING: President Trump says 'he has secured a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, now awaiting Russia’s approval to permanently end the war.'
ayden @squatsons
The U.S. will be sending Russia a request for a thirty day ceasefire. They say accepting the proposal would be the best gesture of goodwill.
Well, the US may cease firing on Ukraine, but that certainly doesn’t mean Russia will. In the meantime we’re being told that the US itself is set to resume firing on Russia, along with its vassal states: Arms shipments and intel sharing to resume immediately—which is an act of war in these circumstances. This is exactly the sort of ploy that Russia has preemptively rejected repeatedly.
As it happens, the Russians may have seen this coming. Putin’s spox delivered remarks this morning that appear to preemptively address Trump’s ploy:
Kremlin warns Russians against Trump euphoria and 'rose-tinted spectacles'
Summary
Trump has raised hopes in Russia about end to war
Oval Office clash, arms aid halt welcomed by many Russians
But Kremlin says Russians need to be clear-eyed
Says it's too early to draw conclusions
Says Russia's own troops will get the job done
MOSCOW, March 11 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Tuesday warned Russians not to get carried away by what the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is doing over Ukraine even though its actions may sometimes look hopeful for Moscow and to always "prepare for the worst".
...
"Don't rush to put on rose-tinted spectacles," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told an audience at Moscow's Higher School of Economics on Tuesday, delivering a reality check to Russians excited by Trump's apparently friendlier behaviour towards them, which has completely upended the policy of the previous U.S. administration.
"We always need to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests," said Peskov.
His warning came as U.S. and Ukrainian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia that are partly designed to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war. If the talks go well, Kyiv hopes Trump may resume military aid and full intelligence sharing.
'EVERYTHING IS WORKING OUT FOR US'
Peskov said Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of any past or future decisions taken by the U.S. administration.
"Many (Russians) are... saying that the Americans will now stop delivering weapons (to Ukraine) or have already stopped, and that Musk will now turn off his communications system and that everything will work out for us," said Peskov.
"(But) everything is working out for us without these things. And so many weapons have been brought into Ukraine that even after a halt in deliveries the Ukrainians will have stuff to fight with and on for many, many months ahead.
"If Musk turns off his system then something else will immediately be switched on. But things are working out for our guys (fighting in Ukraine) without any switch-offs, without any halts (in deliveries), and they are moving forward," he said.
Peskov is simply repeated the position that Putin and Lavrov have repeatedly stated—including in recent days. I would expect Russia to reject this ploy but continue talking. Or maybe not continue talking. The appearance here is that Trump believes he can use PR to coerce Russia into going along with his plans. I very much doubt that will prove to be the case. Respectful treatment is a non-negotiable for the Russian, and Trump is violating that.
The Iranian Example
Megatron @Megatron_ron
JUST IN:
Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian says there will be NO negotiation with Trump:
"Now that you've started threatening us, I'll definitely NOT negotiate. Do whatever the hell you want."
2:51 PM · Mar 11, 2025
The Houthi Example
MenchOsint @MenchOsint
The Yemeni Armed Forces announce the resumption of the ban on the passage of all Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden
…
4:06 PM · Mar 11, 2025
“So, hopefully, [Putin will] also agree. And I really think that would be 75 percent of the way. The rest is getting it documented. You know, negotiating land positions, etc,” Trump stated.
Should Russia not agree to the ceasefire, “we just keep going on,” the US president said, warning that “lots of people” would be killed. Russian and US officials are expected to hold a meeting “today and tomorrow” to negotiate, he said.
Trump wanted a quick and clean break from the Ukraine fiasco. Instead, he's in danger of taking ownership of it. How on Earth would anyone expect the Russians to trust a guy who changes his mind more often than Biden changes his diapers? As for the ceasefire, a commenter on Moon of Alabama got it right: the West is negotiating with itself. The Russians will ignore it, take the PR "loss" and carry on until their SMO aims are achieved.