Putin Thanks Trump for Zelensky Oval Office Ambush
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- Putin personally thanked Trump on Friday for the February 2025 Oval Office ambush of Zelensky, citing the "dress code" exchange in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky for not wearing a suit on camera.
- Putin delivered the remarks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, responding to Zelensky's open letter inviting him to sit down for direct talks—a letter that taunted the 73-year-old Russian leader by writing that "age is beginning to take its toll."
- Putin invoked "Rambo: First Blood," a 1982 film Trump is known to admire, saying "constantly giving off 'Rambo. First Blood' might be appropriate in some contexts, of course, but not everywhere"—apparently urging Trump to resume publicly shaming the Ukrainian president.
- Putin referred to Zelensky only as "the author" of the letter and argued Trump's Oval Office behavior proved Washington and Moscow were aligned against Kyiv, not the reverse.
- Zelensky's letter appeared timed to highlight Putin's declining power and dwindling approval ratings after years of war, and Ukrainian forces pulled off long-range drone strikes on St. Petersburg shortly before Putin took the stage.
- Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, attended the forum—touted by Kremlin-controlled media as proof Washington sent an official "delegation"—but used the platform to showcase mock-ups of Trump's ballroom and "Arc de Trump" rather than deliver anti-Zelensky messaging.
Why it matters: Putin's public gratitude to Trump and his refusal to engage with Zelensky's peace-talk offer reinforce Moscow's preference for a bilateral Washington track over direct talks with Kyiv, even as Ukraine pairs diplomatic outreach with drone strikes on St. Petersburg. The optics of a U.S. Commission of Fine Arts chairman plugging Trump's ego projects at Putin's flagship economic forum underline how informal the U.S.–Russia backchannel has become, with no visible coordination from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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