Post Summit Actions Reveal Trump's Collapse, Putin's Victory

And now Euro leaders are rushing to Washington to prevent a second Zelensky White House mugging

Yesterday, I posted about The Incredible Shrinking Summit and generally pointed out that nothing much happened but Putin won because he gained benefit from the optics even if neither side budged. Then at the end, in a comment, I wrote something I would now like to take back, please:

One thing I need to give Trump credit for — we worried beforehand he would sell out Ukraine and buy into a Russian “peace plan” that would be wholly unacceptable. Let’s give him credit - at least that worst case didn’t happen.

A day later, it’s becoming clear that in fact that’s pretty much what happened. They just didn’t announce anything. True - no ceasefire, no peace agreement, not even a joint statement. By the usual measure of diplomacy, that looks like failure. But sometimes what matters most isn’t the communiqué you carry home — it’s what the following days reveal. Yesterday revealed a lot. The easiest, and clearest way to make sense of what happened is to take a look at Trump and Putin’s position points before the summit, and then look at what they are saying now.

Putin’s Line Before the Summit

Going in, Putin’s position was blunt. Russia would claim full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, cementing its hold on the Donbas. Elsewhere, the lines of battle would simply “freeze,” leaving Moscow entrenched where it stands. No broad concessions on sanctions. No revisions to NATO’s security order. Recognition, in short, of Russia as the victor. Coming out of Alaska, that position was unchanged. Putin gave up nothing.

Trump’s Line Before the Summit

Donald Trump’s pre-summit posture was different. He had been demanding a ceasefire first — a frontline pause that he cast as the necessary gateway to any larger peace. He’d even set a deadline: 50 days, then 50 “business” days, for Moscow to comply.

After Alaska, that position has disappeared. Specifically, the ceasefire demand disappeared. The 50-day ultimatum melted away. In its place, Trump embraced a looser idea of a “peace agreement,” a formulation lifted straight from Moscow’s playbook. And he stops just short of fully endorsing Putin’s “ful control of Donetsk and Luhansk” demand.

Who Moved?

So who moved whom? It’s obvious Putin didn’t move. It;’s obvious Trump did. Putin stated his position, walked into Alaska, restated his position, then walked out without ceding anything. Trump stated his position, walked into Alaska, then after the meeting was over, made it clear that he has abandoned his pre-summit positions and is now largely advocating Putin’s positions. That is the essential takeaway: even without a signed deal, Putin succeeded in nudging Trump off his pre-summit line, while holding its own ground intact. That’s not just a win for Putin, it’s the sell-out of Ukraine that many worried about.

Trump’s Call to Kyiv Reinforces This Interpretation

The reporting since Alaska makes the shift even clearer. According to Reuters, Trump picked up the phone to tell President Volodymyr Zelensky that Putin “wants more of Ukraine” and urged him to “make a deal.” Others are reportung substantially the same thing. That is not neutral mediation. It is the American president transmitting Russian demands directly to Kyiv and pressuring Kyiv to cave.

Europe Steps In

It is no coincidence, then, that European leaders are scrambling to join Zelensky in Washington, presumably to make it harder for another White House mugging to take place. The extraordinary idea of sending allied leaders to sit with Ukraine’s president at the White House is a hedge against the risk of Zelensky being cornered. It is a way of saying: you will not face Trump alone.

The Real Outcome

Alaska will not be remembered for what was signed — nothing was — but for what shifted. Putin stood firm. Trump wilted. As a result, Zelensky is under new pressure, and Europe is scrambling to shield him.

Diplomacy is sometimes theater, but theater reveals its own truths. In Alaska, the truth was not immediately clear because there were no agreements, no press conference with questions taken. But in the aftermath, it is clear there was movement — and it went in only one direction. Putin left Alaska with with his position intact. Trump left Alaska, and the next day began taking actions that show he’s moved off his position and is aligning with Putin. It’s clear this is how it’s being read in Europe - Trump urging Zelensky to “make a deal” on Putin’s terms; European leaders rushing to Washington to prevent Ukraine from being isolated; the disappearance of Trump’s own ceasefire demand and 50-day deadline. All of it points to the same conclusion.

The summit did not end the war. But it clarified the battlefield. The pressure has now shifted from Putin versus Trump to Putin and Trump together versus Zelensky and Europe. The outcome in Alaska leaves Ukraine’s allies with a simple but daunting charge: to stand firm, not just against Putin’s aggression, but against Trump’s willingness to carry Putin’s demands forward.