Trump’s Ukraine Concessions Called a Gift from the Gods for Putin, Expert Warns

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Alexis N. Crockett
February 17, 2025
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9 minutes read

Mikhail Klimentyev | TASS | Getty Images

President Donald Trump reportedly made major concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, dealing a significant blow to Ukraine and delighting the Kremlin. According to reports, Trump told Putin over the phone that Ukraine had no future in NATO and that he did not believe Kyiv would be able to reclaim the territory taken by Russian forces.

Adding to the controversy, Trump also announced plans for direct face-to-face negotiations with Putin in Saudi Arabia, excluding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the talks. The development has raised alarms among Western allies, with critics warning that such unilateral negotiations could hand Putin a major geopolitical victory.

Financier and author Bill Browder, once labeled “Putin’s number one enemy,” discussed the implications of Trump’s moves during an interview on MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki on Sunday. “I would say they’re dancing the jig right now in the Kremlin. I mean…they’ve gone through absolute hell for the last three years,” Browder remarked.

He elaborated on the heavy toll Russia has faced since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “They were supposed to win this war in three days. They’ve lost 850,000 soldiers. They’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars, and they didn’t know when and how this was going to resolve itself. And then, all of a sudden, it looks like it’s going to resolve itself in their favor. This is just like sort of a gift — a gift from the gods — to Vladimir Putin,” he said.

Vladimir Putin — Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Despite Trump’s push for an immediate resolution, Browder pointed out that resolving the war is far more complex than a simple deal between two leaders. “But the one thing I can say, though, is that it’s a complicated story that’s not going to get resolved just by Putin and Trump agreeing something in Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainians have to agree to something, and the Europeans have to agree to something,” he explained. Browder also highlighted that Ukraine may continue fighting with European support, even if the U.S. withdraws its backing.

“And so, to sort of have this, you know, sort of individual one-on-one negotiation between Putin and Trump really doesn’t get Trump to his, you know, ‘solving this war in 24 hours,’ that it’s a very complicated story with a lot of different objectives,” he said. “And the Ukrainians, potentially depending on how the Europeans decide things over the next couple of days, might decide to just carry on without American support and with European support, and perhaps with more European support.”

The prospect of Trump cutting a deal with Putin without Ukraine’s involvement has sparked widespread concern, raising questions about the future of U.S. support for Kyiv and the broader impact on global security.