Jennifer Kavanaugh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, which supports restraint, said there was reason for optimism from Trump’s Ukraine diplomacy, but that Putin has the upper hand on the ground and is not going to compromise easily.
She said that Trump also did not appear to offer any concessions to Putin, despite outside criticism of his ties with the Russian leader and Trump’s earlier berating of Zelensky that alarmed European allies.
“To me, this was a positive step forward that set the ground for some confidence building, both between Ukraine and Russia and between Trump and European allies who are very concerned about his negotiating style,” she said.
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