Russian President Vladimir Putin is “testing the West,” said Fred Kaplan in Slate, and once again, President Trump is flunking. When Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska last month and showered him with subservient flattery, Putin saw it as a signal of weakness—and a green light to expand his drone and missile attacks on Ukraine and to extend his belligerence beyond Ukraine’s borders. This month, 19 unarmed Russian drones flew deep into Polish territory; Polish and European officials widely believe the brazen provocation was an intentional probe to test NATO’s air defenses and its willingness to respond should a member state be attacked. Afterward, the Kremlin ratcheted up its provocative rhetoric, with a spokesperson proclaiming that “NATO is at war with Russia.”
Trump, meanwhile, responded to the drone incident with a “disturbing display of nonchalance,” said Marc Champion in Bloomberg. “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones?” he pondered on social media before suggesting it may have been an accident. But last week, Trump provided a tiny sliver of hope by finally calling Russia “the aggressor” and laying out a plan “for pressuring Moscow to the negotiating table.” He said he’s ready to impose “major sanctions” on Russia, so long as the other 31 NATO member states do the same while banning all Russian oil imports. Given Beijing’s influence over Moscow, Trump also called on the alliance to collectively place 50% to 100% tariffs on China until the war in Ukraine ends. Trump has shown “tremendous weakness” in dealing with Putin, said The Washington Post in an editorial, but he “has a point.” Europeans greatly reduced their use of Russian oil and gas, but need to fully wean themselves off those purchases, which help fund Putin’s war effort.
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