Russia Has ‘Influenced’ The Trump Administration, Zelensky Charges

After a reported 12-hours of negotiations in a luxury hotel in Riyadh, neither the Russian nor US sides have had a lot to say. An initial US readout sounded a tone of optimism, while the Russian side called the talks “useful”.

“We talked about everything, it was an intense dialogue, not easy, but very useful for us and the Americans,” Russian negotiator Grigory Karasin said, describing that ”lots of problems were discussed”.

But at this moment Moscow likely has little incentive to drill down in negotiations when it can perhaps more quickly get what it wants on the battlefield.

With talks not advancing very quickly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is lately out with more criticism of the White House, again risking provoking the wrath of Donald Trump. 

In a Time magazine interview published Sunday, Zelensky charged that US administration officials are succumbing to Kremlin propaganda. He specifically identified the notion that Kiev doesn’t really want to reach a ceasefire deal with Moscow as an example of Russian propaganda. 

“I believe Russia has managed to influence some people on the White House team through information,” Zelensky claimed.

“Their signal to the Americans was that the Ukrainians do not want to end the war, and something should be done to force them,” he explained.

The Ukrainians have also slammed a recent Tucker Carlson interview with Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff as another example of Russian narratives being advanced: 

“(Russia) reclaimed these five regions. They have Crimea, and they’ve gotten what they want. So why do they need more?” Witkoff said.

Another instance that the Ukrainian president said was part of the Russian narrative was Trump’s comments about the encirclement of “thousands” of Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast.

“That was a lie,” Zelensky said.

All of this comes after weeks ago the White House briefly halted weapons transfers to Kiev, as well as intelligence-sharing. While these programs have been restarted, the intel-sharing is reportedly much more limited, and can’t be used of attacks on Russian territory (at least according to official media).

Zelensky’s latest accusations reflect a growing desperation. The more he loses traction and influence with the White House, the more he’s likely going to revive lazy Russiagate-style talking points.

He’s at the same time unwilling to seriously talk territorial concessions, which is probably the one thing that will solve the war. Short of these concessions, Moscow will keep pressing on the battlefield.