Opinion - Putin has shown he doesn't respect Trump. Will Trump push back?
Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for a three-day ceasefire from May 8 to May 10, based on 'humanitarian considerations,' is a complete joke.
It is solely intended to ensure Ukraine does not strike Moscow as Putin and his guests celebrate Russia's World War II Victory Day Parade — the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany — on May 9.
The Kremlin's air defense network has repeatedly demonstrated they cannot provide security against Ukrainian drones, cruise missiles, or special operators.
On April 22, Ukrainian drones struck an ammunition depot of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate designed to hold up to 264,000 tons of munitions, just 37 miles from Moscow in the Vladimir region. The Russian defense ministry claimed a fire had broken out at the military depot due to a 'violating of safety standards,' and that 'As a result of a fire … ammunition stored in a warehouse detonated.'
Nor are the streets of Moscow secured. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car just outside the Russian capital on April 25.
Ukraine's Long Neptune, a new cruise missile believed to have a 600-mile range, is now Moscow's latest nemesis. The missile was used to strike an oil refinery in Tuapse, approximately 300 miles from the front lines in Ukraine on March 14.
Coupled with the possible introduction of Germany's Taurus missile — Russia is increasingly vulnerable to interdiction and deep strikes well into its interior and Crimea.
If Putin were truly interested in humanitarian considerations, he would have accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent proposal following the funeral service for Pope Francis in Rome. Ukraine called for an immediate and full 30-day ceasefire. Instead, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov immediately rejected it declaring that 'without resolving all the nuances, this is impossible.'
Putin's ceasefire proposal is a farce to cover what his military cannot secure — Russian airspace. In the meantime, Russia continues to intentionally target innocent Ukrainian civilians in their residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and churches.
Tragically, 164 Ukrainian civilians were killed and another 910 wounded in Russia attacks in March alone. How many more civilians will be killed or wounded by the Russians between now and May 8?
Putin's drones struck Kyiv yet again early Tuesday morning, striking a residential building in the Samarivskyi district of the central Dnipropetrovsk region, killing a 12-year-old girl. Ukraine's air force said the Russian strike consisted of 100 drones and that they were able to shoot down just 37.
Then on Wednesday, at least 45 people were injured in major drone attacks throughout Ukraine. In Kharkiv, the attack damaged apartment buildings, private homes, a medical center, and other civilian infrastructure. Among the injured were a 16-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, and a 24-year-old pregnant woman. In Dnipro, one person was killed and another was injured. At least five homes were damaged.
It is time for Team Trump to stop pretending that Putin is 'serious about peace' – at least not the version of peace the West envisions. For Putin, 'peace is accomplished when Ukraine stops resisting. His intended end-state is the complete annihilation of Ukraine, its people, and its culture.'
Putin has no intention of stopping the war. If Trump truly wants to 'stop the killing' and 'bring about an end to this war' he is going to have to make Putin stop.
More sanctions alone are not the answer. Putin would only use them to buy more time. Stopping Putin means stopping the ballistic missile strikes. That requires a kinetic response –defensive and offensive.
From a defensive perspective, it begins by implementing the European no-fly zone initiative known as Sky Shield. The plan involves the deployment of 120 fighter jets as part of a European air force to protect Kyiv and western Ukraine from potential Russian air attacks.
Next, sell Zelensky the ten Patriot air defense systems he offered to purchase in mid-April for $15 billion to shield densely populated cities and Ukrainian civilians from ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks.
Our NATO partners must also contribute additional air defense systems and munitions to create an integrated, layered air defense belt similar to the one Israel employed to defeat the Iranian attacks in April and October 2024.
To stop Putin from killing Ukrainian civilians, they also need the ability to defeat the weapon systems — the ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, along with their crews, from wherever they fire. Similar to the tactic U.S. Central Command is using to defeat the Houthi threat in Yemen, they need authorization to strike radars, missile storage facilities and command and control centers.
This will require precision deep strike munitions and precise targeting data. Trump needs to get behind German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stated Germany is willing to send its Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine 'if it were done in conjunction with allies.' Together with those from France and the United Kingdom, German missiles can encourage Putin to stop attacking Ukraine.
As John Lough, head of foreign policy at New Eurasian Strategies Centre, recently told CNN, 'Putin is playing a waiting game, because he believes that time is on his side and that he can force Ukraine into a more disadvantageous position and persuade Kyiv and its European allies with the help of Washington that there is no alternative to a peace settlement on Russian terms.'
Putin must be pushed to the negotiation table — not enticed. The last 100 days under Team Trump's negotiations have yielded nothing except more death and destruction for Ukraine.
Putin has shown he does not respect Trump. He mocks Trump, as do his propagandists.
As Trump's Special Envoy, retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, stated on Fox News, 'Russia's not winning this war. Russia has not made any major advances in the last year and a half. They haven't taken the city of Kyiv, the capital, they haven't pushed to the west of the Dnipro river, they haven't taken Odesa.'
They simply target, kill, and wound Ukrainian civilians.
Trump can stop the killing only by stopping Russia's ability to attack. Calling out Putin's May Day ceasefire farce would be a good place to start.
Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Sweet served 30 years as an Army intelligence officer. Mark Toth writes on national security and foreign policy.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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