JTFactsMax World at War:

Forget peace efforts: Putin is leading us by the nose again.

Three days ago, Washington played host to a mega-summit that briefly convinced optimists that peace in Ukraine might finally be more than a coffee-break fantasy. There was chatter of a direct Zelensky–Putin meeting, with Donald Trump himself dangling the possibility like a shiny object before a weary world. But reality, as always, has a nasty way of showing up. The Kremlin’s answer? Not a handshake, not a summit date, but one of the most violent assaults in weeks: 574 drones and 40 missiles raining down on Ukraine, with Lviv among the targets. That’s Putin’s idea of RSVP.

And if anyone thought the Kremlin strongman was interested in compromise, think again. A summit? Out of the question. Instead, his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at a spry 75, is busy demanding a Russian veto on Ukraine’s defense efforts, as though international security is simply another Duma committee meeting. Political experts are rolling their eyes, warning that Putin isn’t just running circles around Europe—he’s tying Trump’s shoelaces together in the process. Thomas Jäger of the University of Cologne bluntly states that what Western leaders call negotiations, the Kremlin brands as hybrid warfare. Translation: while the West scribbles talking points, Russia weaponizes cyberattacks, propaganda, disinformation, and economic blackmail.

What does Putin really want? Forget the lofty rhetoric—his eyes are on Donbass, specifically the northern sector of Donetsk and Luhansk. Eleven years of war haven’t secured it, but the Kremlin knows its strategic value. Before the Alaska summit, Moscow apparently floated the idea that ceding Donbass would pave the way to peace. Convenient, isn’t it? It’s the kind of peace where Ukraine loses land and Russia gains leverage, all without firing another shot.

Of course, Putin would be delighted to chatter about peace—so long as it’s a Russian “victorious peace,” the kind that leaves Ukraine a shell of a state, dependent and weakened. Experts warn the so-called peace plan has two flavors, and neither comes with dessert. Option one: regime change in Kyiv, turning Ukraine into a Moscow puppet. Option two: a temporary truce that leaves Ukraine so crippled it can be devoured later with a fresh invasion.

So here we are, three days after the summit, with Europe wringing its hands, Trump nodding along, and Putin staging yet another bloody demonstration of who calls the shots. Forget peace efforts. The Kremlin has the leash, and the West, astonishingly, seems content to be led.