US President Donald Trump believes that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin wants peace. However, Ukraine and its European allies remain skeptical, as the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed its willingness to negotiate but has consistently refused to sign any peace agreements, CNN reports.
Putin and his inner circle come from the KGB, the Soviet intelligence service. They have not forgotten the humiliation of the Soviet Union’s collapse and are dissatisfied with how the world has evolved since.
After the chaos of the 1990s, when Russia’s economy was in decline and dependent on Western financial aid, Putin rose to power. Soaring oil prices made Russia richer and gave it a stronger voice internationally. Russia even joined the G8 group of major economies, but that was not enough.
“Putin was happy to throw all that away on behalf of his citizens because of higher geopolitical aims,” said Kristine Berzina, managing director at the German Marshall Fund of the US.
Russia was expelled from the G8, sanctioned, and isolated internationally for its aggression against Ukraine. For Russia, being the eighth member of the G7 was never enough.
“That doesn’t work within Russia’s understanding of its own exceptionalism. It is the largest country in the world, the richest in (natural) resources, so how can it simply be one of the players?” she added.
Trump is pushing for a quick end to the war, even if it means Ukraine losing part of its territory. Meanwhile, Putin risks little in negotiations. Trump has claimed that Russia holds all the cards in the war against Ukraine, even though the conflict has been largely deadlocked for the past two years. Russia has made some territorial gains but at a tremendous cost.
“Putin went into Ukraine thinking that it will be an easy, quick operation. Three years on, he controls 20% of Ukraine, but at terrible, terrible cost. I mean, essentially the Russians are losing. The thing though is that the Ukrainians are losing faster,” said Russian analyst Mark Galeotti.
In his view, a ceasefire would give Putin short-term gains without forcing him to abandon his strategic objectives.
The Russian president and his inner circle have made it clear that their long-term goals remain unchanged. Despite talking about peace, the Kremlin insists that the “root causes” of the war must be addressed. This means eliminating Ukraine’s sovereignty, changing its government, and limiting NATO’s influence in Eastern Europe.
Putin launched the full-scale war in 2022 with the goal of installing a pro-Russian regime in Kyiv and blocking Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO. Despite battlefield setbacks, he has not given up on this objective.
“The easiest way for Russia to attain what it wants in a different country is not through military means, but through interference and electoral process,” said Berzina.
This is why the Kremlin questions Zelenskyy’s legitimacy and insists on elections, attempting to manipulate the process for its benefit.
Putin also wants Ukraine to remain a “neutral” state outside of NATO. However, his promises of peace have little credibility among Ukraine’s European allies.
Andrei Soldatov, a Russian journalist and security expert, believes the Kremlin hopes to get something from Trump but does not expect a fundamental shift in relations with the West. Russia views this war not just as a conflict with Ukraine but as a confrontation with the West as a whole.
“For the Kremlin, it’s not a war with Ukraine, it’s a war with the West, and a lot of people in Moscow don’t really believe that they can get any kind of lasting agreement with the US,” said Soldatov.
The Kremlin continues to believe that the West aims to destroy and subjugate Russia. This is not just propaganda but a belief deeply rooted in the minds of Putin and his inner circle.
Moreover, Putin uses historical myths to justify his actions, claiming that Ukraine is not a separate country but part of “historic Russia.” However, historians refute this narrative, pointing out that political entities from the era of Kyivan Rus have no direct connection to modern states.
The religious dimension also plays a role. Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, openly supports the war, while Putin seeks to revive the idea of “Orthodox unity” under Moscow’s leadership.
Putin’s ambition is to restore Russia’s status as a great power and weaken US influence globally. To that end, he is building a coalition with anti-Western states such as China, Iran, and others.
“Russia wants to be at all the important tables – so whatever comes next, maybe it doesn’t have to mean territorial conquest in Europe, but I think it does have to be in a starring role in the more powerful bloc if it sees that to include China or Iran or others, a bloc that is defined by its willingness to disrupt and destabilize,” said Monica White, associate professor at the University of Nottingham.
Putin is convinced that Russia must help shape the world order—and he may have a like-minded counterpart in Washington. Trump believes that the world’s most powerful countries have the right to act as they see fit, even if that means redrawing borders.
“I think that the fundamental point is that, as far as Trump is concerned, Ukraine is a bought and paid for vassal state and has to understand its place and accept that, essentially, America will work out some kind of a deal with Russia and then bring it back to Ukraine,” Galeotti concluded.
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