How Vladimir Putin plans to play Donald Trump

The Russian president thinks he is the better poker player

Judged by the din of Russian propaganda and the despair among Europeans, Vladimir Putin has never been closer to winning his war on Ukraine. Yet three years after his invasion started on February 24th, 2022, it is not clear what “winning” means. His goals are elusive. His “special military operation” was planned in secret. His government was kept in the dark, as were the Russian people. Mr Putin talks of defending Russian sovereignty, but what happens next depends on factors outside his control: politics in Ukraine, Europe’s rearmament effort and, above all, on Donald Trump. Talks with the Trump administration began on February 18th in Saudi Arabia.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Putin the poker player”

From the February 22nd 2025 edition

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