The disgraceful spectacle of President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance taking turns insulting the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House meeting on Friday was a welcome sight for pro-Kremlin propagandists in Moscow. They’ve described it as an ambush, designed as a way for America to part ways with Ukraine—and they couldn’t be happier with the way this setup played out.
Appearing on Friday’s breaking news broadcast on channel Solovyov Live, political scientist Alexander Voskoboinikov noted that Trump “simply lured [Zelensky] to the White House for this meeting. I can’t explain it any other way. What happened there was a pre-planned operation that was meant to show the whole world that Americans are getting out of this situation. At least, this is what they are demonstrating.”
Host Sergey Karnaukhov giddily described these events as “incredible,” his voice trembling with excitement. He said, “Zelensky got what he deserved. This is his fate. The trial of history started before our very eyes.” At the conclusion of the broadcast, the channel aired a new crowdfunded commercial that began broadcasting in late February. It started with the words, “We are one step away from victory. This is the moment of truth… It’s now or never.”
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One day earlier, Zelensky’s Oval Office ambush was predicted by State Duma member Oleg Morozov on 60 Minutes, a state TV show. Morozov said that the meeting would be a lesson in humiliation, designed to condition Zelensky to capitulate to the United States—and later to Russia. The lawmaker said that the Ukrainian president was flying to America “to sign an act of capitulation,” referring to the rare earth mineral deal Trump was determined to get as a “payback” for previous aid to Ukraine. Describing Trump as Zelensky’s “Daddy,” Morozov predicted, “They will rub his nose into everything, like a messy puppy… Then he will sign whatever he is told to sign.” Host Evgeny Popov chimed in, “But first, Daddy will flog him.”
During the same show, Vitaly Tretyakov, Dean of the Higher School of Television at Moscow’s State University, praised Trump by explaining, “I really like what he is doing right now… I like his revolutionary approach… He did our job for us that we did not dare to do.”
Popov pointed out that Trump is strangling America’s friends and allies. Tretyakov noted, “He is pursuing policies that are beneficial for Russia.” He surmised, “With respect to Ukraine, he is ready to give Russia everything it wants to take.”
Russian experts and pundits repeatedly articulated that Moscow isn’t seeking peace but instead wants to conquer as much of Ukraine as possible. They’ve explained that getting Zelensky out of the way is essential to achieve the Kremlin’s goal of subjugating its neighbor.
The Trump administration’s aim of forcing Ukraine into signing over its mineral rights played straight into the hands of the Russian propagandists. They openly expressed their intent to use the one-sided deal to besmirch Zelensky as an “illegitimate” president who agreed to sign away Ukraine’s future, effectively turning generations of Ukrainians into indentured servants of the United States—all without obtaining any security guarantees.
Trump’s commentary about the urgent need for a wartime election was said to be a result of Vladimir Putin’s conversations with the American president and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Top Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said that the views of the Trump administration are in total alignment with the way things look from Moscow—and Friday’s debacle confirmed this yet again.
