Time to Force Putin to the Negotiating Table

By Gregory W. Slayton

Tuesday, September 02, 2025

 

On the night of the Trump–Putin summit in Alaska two weeks ago, Russia unleashed one of its biggest and deadliest bombings against Ukrainian civilians. Almost every night since, Russia has escalated the death and destruction. Just five nights ago, over 600 Russian drones and missiles targeted Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Twenty-five civilians were killed, with hundreds more seriously injured. Among the dead were four innocent children.

 

President Trump declared he was “very angry” with his friend Vladimir, as he has done almost every time Russia strikes with a new level of aggression. Unfortunately, these repeated presidential proclamations now have Russian leadership laughing up their sleeves. According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency, Russia plans to use 80,000 more drones to attack Ukraine in the final four months of this year. That is almost 700 death-dealing drones every single night.

 

Russia’s brutality is not limited to massive bombings of hospitals, schools, churches, and apartment buildings. On Saturday, the former speaker of the Ukrainian Rada (Parliament) was gunned down in broad daylight in Lviv in what was clearly a professional hit. Andriy Parubiy was a staunch, long-time opponent of Vladimir Putin and his efforts to make Ukraine a Russian colony. The suspected murderer has been apprehended, and most believe that the assassination was planned by Russia’s FSB. Sunday evening, Russian jamming equipment attempted to disable the plane of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as it was landing in Bulgaria.

 

Despite all the Russian killing, hats off to Trump for seeking peace. All people of good heart want a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. But Putin is not such a person. Trump has done his best to fulfill his oft-repeated campaign promise to “end the war in 24 hours.” But it is impossible to end a war when the aggressor is determined to continue the killing on a massive scale. And that is exactly what Putin is doing.

 

Only when Trump reduced his 50-day ultimatum to ten days did Putin agree to meet in Alaska. And via a combination of flattery and bravado, Putin escaped the ten-day ultimatum and any consequences for his escalating violence. He has continuously refused to meet with President Zelensky or even to seriously discuss a cease-fire. As former Vice President Mike Pence stated recently: “Putin doesn’t want peace. He wants Ukraine.”

 

So, what to do now? Fortunately, Trump has powerful tools he can use immediately to put greater economic, military, and political pressure on Russia. As even senior Russian officials admit, their economy is in dire straits. It is time to bring down the hammer with the following:

 

·         Update and enhance sanctions against businesses that export key technologies to Russia for its military industrial complex. U.S. sanctions have not been kept up to date, and as a result bad actors have found new ways around them. Time to close all loopholes and jail repeat offenders wherever we or our allies can.

·         Shut down the shadow fleet that is bringing Russian gas and oil to India, China, Brazil, and others. This fleet now comprises hundreds of ships and has more than tripled in size in the past three years. In addition to the fleet’s illegal shipping activities, Western intelligence agencies believe many of its ships are also spying for Russia and/or cutting undersea cables. Implementing “shadow free zones,” enforcing maritime insurance requirements, prosecuting vessel owners and suppliers, and then confiscating shadow fleet ships that break these rules would sink much of Russia’s illegal oil and gas exports.

·         Pass the Russian Sanctions Bill which now has 85 Senate co-sponsors and a veto-proof majority in the House. Get it on the president’s desk in September for him to sign. Make nations like China, India, and Brazil decide between working with the democratic West, which represents over 70 percent of the global economy, or partnering with a dysfunctional dictatorship whose economy and population are cratering.

 

Putin is clearly trying to play President Trump by talking peace while waging ever-increasing war. He will find that a dangerous game. It is a wonderful thing that the president wants to be a peacemaker. But he will not allow anyone to play him. Time has run out for “Vlad the Mad” and his strategy of escalating death and destruction. The U.S. and our NATO allies must use every tool at our disposal to force him to come to the peace table and end the ever-growing bloodshed in Ukraine.