Putin Is a Loser

Putin revealed his weakness when he asked Trump to protect his May 9 military parade from Ukrainian strikes – something a strong leader would never do. Meanwhile, Ukraine is striking military targets in 21 Russian cities using homegrown weapons, no longer needing American permission. Ukraine’s drone and missile production is accelerating, Russia’s oil output is at a 16-year low, and the narrative of Putin as an unbeatable strongman is rapidly unraveling. Make us preferred on Google Flip Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Laotian President at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 9, 2026. (Photo by Ramil Sitdikov / POOL / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google According to multiple sources close to US President Donald Trump, the belief driving Trump’s Russia/Ukraine policy is that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a strong leader and can’t be defeated. Trump likes winners, and he sees Putin as a winner. Last week, Putin called Trump and talked him out of it. Essentially, Putin said, “Can you please protect my May 9 military parade from [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky? I can’t do it.” At that moment, Putin informed Trump that he is a loser. Only losers can’t defend their own military parade. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . The backdrop for Putin’s phone call with Trump was several Russian cities with big plumes of black smoke billowing out of them from Ukrainian strikes on refining facilities or weapons manufacturing plants. Check out my TVP World appearance on May 8 where I talk at length about the ceasefire, Ukraine’s attacks inside Russia and the impact of those attacks on the US perception of Ukraine. Zelensky, in a great troll, issued a presidential decree allowing a military parade in Moscow on May 9. We know that this exchange with Putin impacted Trump. Shortly after the call with Putin, Trump went on the Hugh Hewitt show and said the nicest things about Zelensky that he has said in a long time. “And I like Zelensky. I’ve always sort of gotten along with him other than the one moment in the White House, which I thought was a little aggressive on his behalf, you know, the Oval Office. Other Topics of Interest UFO Sighting, Yermak’s Detention, and Accusations From Zelensky’s Ex-Spokesperson – Ukraine Latest, May 12 Ukraine’s former top aide was hit with a corruption notice as fighting resumed after the failed ceasefire. Europe is openly doubting Washington, the US wants Ukraine’s drone know-how, and Iran tensions keep rising – all while a mysterious Russian shipwreck and a reported UFO sighting grabbed headlines. I will say this. They fight, because, whether the equipment is great or less than great, they are able to fight. [...] They fight against a very big monster, and they’ve held it back for a long time.” How long does this kind feeling from Trump last? What does it mean? Hard to say with Trump. Trump thinks putting pressure on Zelensky is the quickest way to end the war. But Putin told Trump last week that he has pressure points of his own. This is a message that the pro-Ukraine community needs to pound. Think about Putin’s request of Trump. Assuming Putin is cunning and calculating, he had to know that much of his currency with Trump depends on him showing strength. Putin made a decision that it was better to lose face with Trump than to risk his military parade being bombed. What does that say about Putin’s standing in Russia? When former US President Joe Biden left office, the pro-Ukraine community had been lobbying for more than two years for him to let Ukraine use US ATACMS inside Russia. ATACMS have a range of 180 miles. Today, Ukraine is striking targets more than 1,000 miles inside Russia with its Ukrainian-built  Flamingo  cruise missile,  Liutyi  one way attack drone and  FP-1 (Fire Point) Long-Range One-Way Attack Drone.  With these weapons and others, Ukraine has hit refineries or military targets in 21 Russian cities in the last 30 days. Russian citizens no longer think Putin can protect them. This is a social media post, reportedly by a Russian mother in Tuapse, mashed up with footage of Russian oil refineries exploding in the same city. Is it real? Grok thinks so, and a lot of similar posts are floating around. For the entirety of Biden’s term in office, Ukraine’s moves inside Russia depended on getting Biden’s permission. No more. Ukraine doesn’t have to ask anyone to strike military targets across European Russia. Very effective homegrown  Ukrainian weapons are within striking range of 70% of Russia’s population.  Unlike Putin, Ukraine does not target civilians, but most Russian civilians can see Ukrainian drones in the sky and smoke from Ukrainian strikes on the horizon. Now it’s Putin who is asking permission of an American president to hold his military parade. Russia is a gas station with an army. If Ukraine can shut down the revenue from the gas station, the army can’t do much. In April,  Russia’s oil production dropped to its lowest rate since 2009 . As Jillian Melchior points out in her excellent piece in the  Wall Street Journal: “As of May 5, Ukraine had carried out at least 136 successful attacks on targets in Russia this year, including at least 42 since April 1, according to Mr. Zemlianyi driven by 59 drone and missile strikes that month, almost double the rate of last year’s strikes.” Melchior points out that Russia is just too big to defend all its territory from Ukrainian missile and drone attacks. Ukraine’s capacity to produce drones and missiles to take advantage of Russia’s lack of air defenses is growing. Also from Melchior’s piece:  “CEO and chief technical officer Iryna Terekh says Fire Point now delivers 220 of them a day – more than it made in all of 2023 – and is on track to produce about 400 daily by the end of 2026.” Finnish president Alexander Stubb put a fine point on it in a  recent speech  at Carleton University in Canada, saying, “The tide has turned.” According to Stubb, “Ukraine has killed or wounded 30,000 to 35,000 Russian soldiers per month,” with a kill ratio of five Russian dead for every Ukrainian dead. Ninety-five percent of the battlefield casualties are caused by drones.Putin is  reportedly  spending a lot of time in bunkers, worried about assassination attempts. Some say Trump changes his stance on issues based on information he receives from unconventional sources. His information on Ukraine and Russia is just one example. Why does he think Putin can’t be beat? In a news conference in  August of last year , Trump said: “I asked a question from a very very smart man, that some people like and some people do not like. Viktor Orbán, from Hungary. He is in the same area and knows the two countries very well. I said, ‘Can Russia be beaten by Ukraine?’ He looked at me like ‘What a stupid question?’ He said Russia is a massive country, and they fight wars, that is what they do.” Orban has clearly lost credibility after his electoral defeat, and Putin is showing himself to be at odds with Orban’s description. We have an opportunity to get better information to Trump. Last summer, the Ukraine Freedom Project ran a digital ad,  Putin is a Loser,  aimed at 4,000 West Wing insiders. Each of them saw it on average 127 times. The ad showed Russia’s massive loss of soldiers, how little land they had taken, and the dire consequences on the Russian economy. After we aired it, Vice President JD Vance echoed our messaging in several media appearances, most notably on  Fox News Sunday  in late September. “I think what has changed is the reality on the ground, with the Russians killing a lot of people and losing a lot of people and they don’t have much to show for it.” “The Russian economy is in shambles. The Russians are not gaining much on the battlefield. It’s clearly time for them to listen to his passionate plea for them to come to the table and actually talk seriously about peace,” Trump posted on Truth Social  around the same time: “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.” We had enough funding for only one month of running the ad, then other messaging overtook it – the Russians spend some $2 billion worldwide on propaganda annually. This sort of drumbeat needs to be maintained to be effective. If you want to help, you can aid the work of the Ukraine Freedom Project by  donating here. In the meantime, Ukrainians are good at protesting. Maybe it is time for the pro-Ukraine community to send protesters to the White House with signs saying: “Putin is a Loser!” Reprinted from the author’s Tales from World War III blog. See the original here .  The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post. Steven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project and a former congressional Republican chief of staff, went to Ukraine on day 5 of the war. His film, A Faith Under Siege, documents Russian atrocities against Ukrainian Christians.