What Do Russians Make of the Trump–Putin Meeting?

Friday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin left Ukrainians largely dismayed, while many Russians celebrated the red-carpet reception.

For Russians, the red-carpet welcome for Putin is a diplomatic jackpot.

For Ukrainians, the moment was marked by disappointment and frustration as Trump – the leader of a democratic nation and once Kyiv’s closest ally – extended a red-carpet welcome to a man responsible for untold deaths and destruction in the country.

That anger has surfaced in Ukrainian memes, placing Trump and Putin’s red carpet over the streets of the Kyiv region lined with civilian corpses from the onset of Russia’s 2022 invasion – a memory that remains vivid for Ukrainians.

From the Russians, however, most reactions were positive.

Russian officials and state media celebrated Putin’s reemergence from international isolation following years of war, destruction and war crime accusations – emphasizing that it was the US president who helped bring Putin back onto the global stage.

“Western media are in a state that can be called madness turning into complete madness: For three years they told about Russia’s isolation, and today they saw a red carpet rolled out for the Russian President in the US,” wrote Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in her Telegram update.

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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whom Trump recently warned and who threatened Trump with a nuclear strike on social media, echoed the sentiment. Medvedev said an important victory for Russia in Alaska is that the war can continue in parallel with negotiations, and that Trump and Putin together placed the blame for the war on Kyiv and Europe.

“Important: the meeting proved that negotiations are possible without preconditions and simultaneously with the continuation of the Special Military Operation. The main point: Both sides directly placed responsibility for achieving future results in negotiations on ending hostilities on Kyiv and Europe,” Medvedev wrote, referring to the invasion using the Kremlin’s official term.

Russian propagandists were more focused on the symbolism surrounding the meeting, in which everyone saw the US’s humiliation and Russia’s triumph – in particular, the fact that the meeting took place on US soil.

Ironically, Trump considered the fact that Putin coming to the US was a “very respectful” move from the latter.

Propagandists especially seized on images of US soldiers laying out the red carpet for Putin’s arrival, portraying it as the American military bowing before the Kremlin leader.

“Frame of the night: American Marines dutifully and hastily roll out a red carpet for the President of Russia at an American airbase. Symbolic... 😂😂😂,” wrote one of Russia’s main pro-war bloggers, Yuri Podolyaka.

Ukrainian bloggers also highlighted this symbolism, viewing it as a slight against the US military’s stature.

According to Podolyaka, the outcome of the meeting was that Putin successfully outplayed Trump and forced him to make decisions “not in the interests of Kyiv, London and Brussels.”

“It would seem that serious US sanctions against Russia – the matter was settled. And without obvious concessions on the Ukrainian issue we could not avoid them. Trump presented us with an ultimatum, driving himself into a situation where he could not back down without losing face. Russia’s response was brilliant. The proposal of a personal meeting, from which Donny (after everything said) simply could not refuse,” he wrote.

“And then you saw everything yourselves. Moreover, it is precisely with Russia that the US is ready to resolve issues of global security. Which means Russia is undoubtedly a superpower (albeit weaker than the USSR in capabilities). And no concessions whatsoever on the Ukrainian issue,” Podolyaka added.

Podolyaka’s remarks reflect the prevailing view on many hawkish pro-war channels in Russia. For instance, the popular channel “Notes of a Veteran,” which advocates for mass killings of Ukrainians, claimed that Trump called Putin “the boss” and took direct instructions from him on which Ukrainian regions should go to Russia.

Russian propagandists are also convinced that now Russia can bomb Ukrainian cities without risk of sanctions or even remarks from the US.

But not everyone in Russia shares the triumphant tone – particularly those closer to the military, whose comments highlight a gap between Kremlin propaganda and the reality on the ground.

For example, the more military-oriented channel “Military Informant” reacted very cautiously.

“Judging by the statements of Trump and Putin, although the negotiations were held in a friendly and constructive manner, no breakthrough occurred. It seems that once again they agreed to agree. We keep fighting,” the channel wrote.

Even more critical was Igor Strelkov, a former leader of the Russian invasion in Donbas who is now imprisoned in Russia for expressing anti-Putin views on the war.

Strelkov argues that any agreements with Trump will not change the course of the war, and that Putin will likely seek a way to exit on minimally acceptable terms – which may not align with Ukraine’s or Trump’s interests.

“Russia will be required (and possibly will give) concessions that are ‘preliminary’ and (necessarily) unilateral, which will only worsen our military-political position, without giving any (even urgent) relief. As long as neither side is ready to admit itself defeated – the war will continue and pressure on ‘Moscow’ will only increase over time,” Strelkov wrote.