Ruth Deyermond
@ruthdeyermond.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer, Department of War Studies, King's College London. Russian foreign & security policy, US foreign policy, US-Russia relations, European security. Views are my own.
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Ruth Deyermond
@ruthdeyermond.bsky.social
· Aug 13
Trump likes Putin and Russia. Trump wants to "get along" with Putin and with Russia. When under intense pressure, he makes vague threats about punishing Russia which he then ignores, or converts into diplomatic favours for Russia. None of this is likely to change.
Amazing that after Trump's 1st term and 10 months of a 2nd, people still expect him to have any interest in or understanding of the details of any aspect of foreign policy. People still think of Trump as within the normal range of presidential capacities and behaviours. He's not.
Trump hasn’t been deeply involved in the details of the Ukraine peace plan, according to a U.S. official cited by The Washington Post. "You tell him, ‘I’ll try to make a deal,’ and he says, ‘Great, go see what you can do.’ That’s the level of engagement," the official said.
Total chaos.
Total chaos.
November 24, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Amazing that after Trump's 1st term and 10 months of a 2nd, people still expect him to have any interest in or understanding of the details of any aspect of foreign policy. People still think of Trump as within the normal range of presidential capacities and behaviours. He's not.
Have been thinking about comments from people saying the "peace plan" also includes things that Russia won't like, and citing the use of Russia's frozen assets for reconstruction of Ukraine. But nothing in the plan says the money couldn't be spent in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
November 23, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Have been thinking about comments from people saying the "peace plan" also includes things that Russia won't like, and citing the use of Russia's frozen assets for reconstruction of Ukraine. But nothing in the plan says the money couldn't be spent in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Friday: "Sign this by Thanksgiving or it's all over for you."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it."
Sunday: "By 'some other boys wrote it', of course I meant some other boys wrote the denial that we wrote it. Here's my lunch money."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it."
Sunday: "By 'some other boys wrote it', of course I meant some other boys wrote the denial that we wrote it. Here's my lunch money."
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Friday: "Sign this by Thanksgiving or it's all over for you."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it."
Sunday: "By 'some other boys wrote it', of course I meant some other boys wrote the denial that we wrote it. Here's my lunch money."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it."
Sunday: "By 'some other boys wrote it', of course I meant some other boys wrote the denial that we wrote it. Here's my lunch money."
Friday: "Sign this by Thanksgiving or it's all over for you."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it." www.huffpost.com/entry/senato...
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it." www.huffpost.com/entry/senato...
U.S. Senators Say They Spoke With Rubio About Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan Who Denied It Is A U.S. Plan
Senators said Rubio told them the peace plan Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual U.S. plan.
www.huffpost.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Friday: "Sign this by Thanksgiving or it's all over for you."
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it." www.huffpost.com/entry/senato...
Saturday: "This is nothing to do with us, some other boys wrote it." www.huffpost.com/entry/senato...
What was true of the Trump administration's original, extortionate minerals plan is equally true of this peace plan. It will probably be true of the next White House plan, and the one after that.
To repeat: the Trump administration peace deal was always a deal for peace between Russia and the US, not Russia and Ukraine. In it, it seems, the US gets Ukraine's resources, Russia gets Ukraine's land, and Ukraine gets to say thank you.
November 22, 2025 at 8:43 PM
What was true of the Trump administration's original, extortionate minerals plan is equally true of this peace plan. It will probably be true of the next White House plan, and the one after that.
I expect to be reposting this every three months or so until the end of the Trump administration.
The more that members of the Trump administration talk, the more it sounds as if Plan A to stop the war was to coerce Ukraine into capitulation and Plan B was to keep repeating Plan A until it worked. When it became apparent that wasn't going to happen, they were out of ideas.
November 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I expect to be reposting this every three months or so until the end of the Trump administration.
And don't forget that under the terms of the 28 point plan, someone, presumably Ukraine, will be paying the US for this. It's a protection racket, which is how Trump understands all security relationships. And like all protection rackets, it's all racket and no protection.
November 21, 2025 at 9:18 PM
And don't forget that under the terms of the 28 point plan, someone, presumably Ukraine, will be paying the US for this. It's a protection racket, which is how Trump understands all security relationships. And like all protection rackets, it's all racket and no protection.
A quick run through of the Trump administration's proposal for a Ukraine security guarantee, which is a security guarantee in the same way that the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia is a party committed to liberalism and democracy. 🧵 x.com/BarakRavid/s...
Barak Ravid on X: "FULL TEXT OF THE U.S. DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR A UKRAINE SECURITY GUARANTEE: 🚨This Framework establishes the conditions for an armistice between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and provides a security assurance modeled on the principles of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty," / X
FULL TEXT OF THE U.S. DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR A UKRAINE SECURITY GUARANTEE: 🚨This Framework establishes the conditions for an armistice between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and provides a security assurance modeled on the principles of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty,
x.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
A quick run through of the Trump administration's proposal for a Ukraine security guarantee, which is a security guarantee in the same way that the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia is a party committed to liberalism and democracy. 🧵 x.com/BarakRavid/s...
Some notable things in what's being called the "Trump peace plan" but which could not have been more clearly written in Moscow if it came with a 2 for 1 deal on tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet. 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Some notable things in what's being called the "Trump peace plan" but which could not have been more clearly written in Moscow if it came with a 2 for 1 deal on tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet. 🧵
Considerable understatement from the Telegraph here: "an administration that has at times leaned toward Moscow’s view on the origins of the war in Ukraine" - Trump has repeatedly blamed Ukraine starting the war. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg ‘quits’ after plan for US peace leaked
The exit of the retired general and key Ukraine advocate will be unwelcome news as Kyiv comes under pressure to cede territory to Russia
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Considerable understatement from the Telegraph here: "an administration that has at times leaned toward Moscow’s view on the origins of the war in Ukraine" - Trump has repeatedly blamed Ukraine starting the war. www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025...
If the Trump administration are trying to coerce the Ukrainian govt into agreeing to this, plus ceding territory, what should that tell us about them? Ukraine and the rest of Europe would never again be secure if this happened; the Trump administration aren't interested in that.
November 19, 2025 at 11:50 PM
If the Trump administration are trying to coerce the Ukrainian govt into agreeing to this, plus ceding territory, what should that tell us about them? Ukraine and the rest of Europe would never again be secure if this happened; the Trump administration aren't interested in that.
As always, this is what the Trump administration is focused on when it says its negotiating to end the war in Ukraine. And to be clear: they don't want to "restore" US-Russia ties, they seem to want a completely new kind of US relationship with Russia. 🧵
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
As always, this is what the Trump administration is focused on when it says its negotiating to end the war in Ukraine. And to be clear: they don't want to "restore" US-Russia ties, they seem to want a completely new kind of US relationship with Russia. 🧵
This, of course, is exactly the argument Trump used about Crimea in 2018. Not surprising that the man he picked for this job shares his Russia-favouring, profoundly stupid, view.
October 19, 2025 at 11:27 AM
This, of course, is exactly the argument Trump used about Crimea in 2018. Not surprising that the man he picked for this job shares his Russia-favouring, profoundly stupid, view.
I expect to be reposting this at least once more before Christmas.
Trump likes Putin and Russia. Trump wants to "get along" with Putin and with Russia. When under intense pressure, he makes vague threats about punishing Russia which he then ignores, or converts into diplomatic favours for Russia. None of this is likely to change.
October 18, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I expect to be reposting this at least once more before Christmas.
Classic response to this over on twitter. May have to change my bio to include it.
October 17, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Classic response to this over on twitter. May have to change my bio to include it.
This does not sound as if the Trump administration is interested in a drones for Tomahawks deal.
October 17, 2025 at 6:39 PM
This does not sound as if the Trump administration is interested in a drones for Tomahawks deal.
"Hopefully they won't need it, hopefully we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks." Well, they do need them and everyone *is* thinking about Tomahawks, but that sounds very much like no Tomahawks for Ukraine.
⚡️Trump said he hopes to end the war “without thinking about Tomahawks.”
“We are fairly close to that,” he added.
“We are fairly close to that,” he added.
October 17, 2025 at 6:27 PM
"Hopefully they won't need it, hopefully we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks." Well, they do need them and everyone *is* thinking about Tomahawks, but that sounds very much like no Tomahawks for Ukraine.
See also: the willingness to believe that Trump got angry and almost walked out in Alaska because Putin allegedly did his history bore thing. It shouldn't need saying, but anyone who was in the room for that meeting has an interest in making Trump look ready to stand up to Putin.
All the people convinced that this time it was different should bear this in mind in 3-6 weeks when the White House starts up the "Trump's finally fed up with Putin and willing to do something" circus yet again.
Q: What did you tell Putin about the Tomahawk missiles?
TRUMP: I will tell you we need Tomahawks for the United States of America too
TRUMP: I will tell you we need Tomahawks for the United States of America too
October 17, 2025 at 10:25 AM
See also: the willingness to believe that Trump got angry and almost walked out in Alaska because Putin allegedly did his history bore thing. It shouldn't need saying, but anyone who was in the room for that meeting has an interest in making Trump look ready to stand up to Putin.
All the people convinced that this time it was different should bear this in mind in 3-6 weeks when the White House starts up the "Trump's finally fed up with Putin and willing to do something" circus yet again.
Q: What did you tell Putin about the Tomahawk missiles?
TRUMP: I will tell you we need Tomahawks for the United States of America too
TRUMP: I will tell you we need Tomahawks for the United States of America too
October 17, 2025 at 9:06 AM
All the people convinced that this time it was different should bear this in mind in 3-6 weeks when the White House starts up the "Trump's finally fed up with Putin and willing to do something" circus yet again.
Someone has just pointed out that I said Trump when I meant Putin. 🤦♀️The one person no-one in this administration will put pressure on is Trump.
As ever, the "this time he's really going to put serious pressure on Trump" line, coming out of the administration via the media and many commentators on here, is undermined when Trump speaks to Putin and then talks about it.
October 16, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Someone has just pointed out that I said Trump when I meant Putin. 🤦♀️The one person no-one in this administration will put pressure on is Trump.
As ever, the "this time he's really going to put serious pressure on Trump" line, coming out of the administration via the media and many commentators on here, is undermined when Trump speaks to Putin and then talks about it.
October 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
As ever, the "this time he's really going to put serious pressure on Trump" line, coming out of the administration via the media and many commentators on here, is undermined when Trump speaks to Putin and then talks about it.
I'm shocked to discover that a senior member of a party run by Nigel Farage had a dodgy relationship with Russia.
September 26, 2025 at 2:27 PM
I'm shocked to discover that a senior member of a party run by Nigel Farage had a dodgy relationship with Russia.
"If [Trump] were serious about punishing Russia for failing to move towards peace, he would have done it long ago." Always good to talk to @kyivindependent.com
Thanks to Oleg Sukhov for quoting me, among others (including @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social) in this @kyivindependent.com article, as we try to make sense of Trump's latest comments about #Russia and #Ukraine
kyivindependent.com/trumps-pro-u...
kyivindependent.com/trumps-pro-u...
Ukrainian, European leaders push Trump to change tone on Russia. Will actions follow?
U.S. President Donald Trump's statements and public posts following his latest meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky have been… different.
Kyiv can "fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form,"...
kyivindependent.com
September 26, 2025 at 1:36 PM
"If [Trump] were serious about punishing Russia for failing to move towards peace, he would have done it long ago." Always good to talk to @kyivindependent.com
Exactly. The logic of this position is that resisting any Russian incursion into NATO territory would be an act of war. Shooting down a plane? War. Stopping a tank crossing into Estonia? War. Resisting Russian troops invading Finland? War. 🙄
September 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Exactly. The logic of this position is that resisting any Russian incursion into NATO territory would be an act of war. Shooting down a plane? War. Stopping a tank crossing into Estonia? War. Resisting Russian troops invading Finland? War. 🙄
One last thing on Trump's embarrassing UN speech: watching it - in particular, listening to him read it - makes it clear that Trump has absolutely no interest in foreign policy. The only time he seemed remotely engaged was when he was complaining or bragging. That matters.🧵
September 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
One last thing on Trump's embarrassing UN speech: watching it - in particular, listening to him read it - makes it clear that Trump has absolutely no interest in foreign policy. The only time he seemed remotely engaged was when he was complaining or bragging. That matters.🧵