Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing. Not just the war he launched on Ukraine in 2022, but any credibility or respect from other world leaders. His invasion of Russia’s former Soviet state should have been over quickly. He failed to grasp that after experiencing independence, Ukraine had no desire to again be controlled by a murderous thug dictatorship in Moscow.
Ukraine’s tenacity and ability to innovate have stunned the world and made Putin more desperate, erratic, and aggressive.
Putin’s war strategy to this point has been to target innocent civilians, churches, and children and hit at the heart of Ukrainian identity and national pride. In recent weeks, he has bombed shopping centers and grocery stores in order to deplete Ukraine’s food supply heading into the harsh winter months.
Now, in his desperation, Putin has scaled up attacks on Western leaders who, thanks to President Donald Trump’s cajoling, have stepped up to the plate, built up their military capabilities, and doubled down in their support for Ukraine.
On Sept. 13, Putin ordered the horrific bombing of a Kyiv-to-Poland-bound train that was carrying former U.S. CIA Director and Army General David Petraeus, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, among other diplomats and journalists.
Mitzi Perdue, an 85-year-old reporter, recounts the terrifying night spent scrambling to get away from the burning train amid the overwhelming acrid smoke, maneuvering in the darkness and confusion to hide in the bushes as a drone buzzed above the wreckage.
Perdue has traveled to the war-torn country eight times during this war but has never experienced the terror of being targeted by a Russian drone.
A few weeks ago, my friends were on that train. Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) attended a prayer breakfast alongside me, celebrating Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Earlier this month, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, warned Western leaders that they would be the Kremlin’s new targets, particularly those traveling to Kyiv by train, the main route to the capital with the airport closed. Ukrainian Railways reported about 40 trains were hit by Russian drones in August alone.
His intent is clear. Putin is trying to bully Ukraine’s allies.
France’s Emmanuel Macron is taking the threat seriously, warning his security services that Russia’s aggression and threats in Europe are intensifying, citing the train strike and repeated drone incursions into European airspace.
Putin threatened Britain for assisting Ukraine with their drone technology. “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer,” stated the Russian Embassy. Prime Minister Andy Burnham responded by pledging 100% support for Ukraine.
“We know he (Putin) is plotting something,” said Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland. “Poland and the Polish people cannot, under any circumstances, afford to be naïve or engaged in wishful thinking. We must base our actions on facts, and those facts are unequivocal.”
On Aug. 4, a Russian hybrid drone targeted Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany.
The Department of Justice just unearthed a Russian assassination plot in the United States, arresting five men who were ordered to take out a prominent Russian dissident.
After learning Putin was considering attacking a NATO ally, the Trump administration dispatched CIA Director John Radcliffe to Moscow to explain there would be consequences to that action.
For his part, Trump wanted to believe that Putin was ready to negotiate. The art of the dealmaker has to realize that Putin has never been interested in a deal. The former KGB intelligence officer only understands power and dominance and bullying his way to victory.
Trump now has the power to put maximum pressure on Putin. Two weeks ago, he signed into law the Lindsey O. Graham Russian Sanctions Act, which allows the U.S. to expand sanctions on Russian military figures and foreign suppliers, to ban U.S. investment in Russia, and tighten restrictions on oil exports to Russia. Trump will have increased authority to impose tariffs on Russian goods. The U.S. will also have more sanctioning authority on those responsible for the abduction of Ukrainian children, which has been a humanitarian cause for first lady Melania Trump.
Weakened military might and even weakened resolve by the West led Putin to believe he could roll over his enemies. Putin’s bullying tactics are having the opposite of his intended effects.
UKRAINE ISN’T A CHARITY CASE — IT’S THE WORLD’S TOP MILITARY SCHOOL
“We are a nation that may lose territory, but we will never lose our soul; we may surrender territory, but we will never surrender our Homeland,” Nawrocki said.
Putin needs to recalculate based on the entrenched support for Ukraine’s allies and Trump’s new authority. He needs to put an end to his war.
Bob McEwen is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who served on the Intelligence Committee and the U.S. delegation to the European Parliament. He currently serves as the executive director of the Council for National Policy.