'Will he be on Europe and Ukraine's side? Or will he decide that Russia is more important for America?'
IMAGE: Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building which was hit by Russian missile and drone strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 28, 2025.
Russia fired 629 missiles and drones at Kyiv on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, killing 21 people. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters
"Trump thinks Putin is a friend. Putin has no friends. His only goal is to restore Russia to an empire like the old USSR," says Orysia Lutsevch, Deputy Director, Russia and Eurasia Programme and head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, the respected London-based think-tank.
Speaking to Nikhil Lakshman/Rediff on a Zoom call from her home in London, days after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska and the Trump-Zelenskyy-European leaders encounter at the White House, Lutsevch asserts the following:
- "Ukraine has humiliated Russia. After 1,000 days of fighting, Russia has not conquered even 1% of Ukraine."
- "The European leaders and Zelenskyy wanted to make Trump understand that Putin is misleading him, so why give Putin all the concessions?"
- "Trump cannot compel Ukraine to accept Putin's demands. Because Putin's demands equal capitulation."
- "After two summits, Russia is not making any concessions. They are still making maximalist demands. They want a veto over Ukraine's sovereignty."
- "The only reason Putin will meet Zelenskyy is because he wants to make Trump happy."
- "The only way the war in Ukraine will end is if Putin runs out of men and resources.
IMAGE: A woman reacts near a building housing the local branch of the British Council, as she stands at the site of an apartment building hit during Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv, August 28, 2025. Photograph: Reuters
Watch this interview for a fascinating and understanding view of the Russia-Ukraine War, 43 months and 7 days today, a far away conflict which India has been dragged into, to the extent that one of Trump's flunkeys calls it 'Modi's war'!
Video Edited and Presented by Rajesh Karkera/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
Reuters Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff, Satish Bodas/Rediff