The Day Zelensky Played Putin at His Own Game

How a Single Move from Kyiv Sent the Kremlin Into a Tailspin—and Left Trump Nodding Along

Putin believes he can manipulate Trump.

The events of the first week of March—after the Oval Office fiasco with Trump, Zelensky, J.D. Vance, and a thousand cameras—have only strengthened that belief. And Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, keeps pouring fuel on the fire.

Keep the Trump administration on a leash, yank it for concessions, hold the Russian economy together just long enough, and destroy Ukraine as much as possible—that remains the core of Putin’s plan. But this plan also demands that the Kremlin maintain control over ceasefire negotiations, because that’s all Trump really wants. Some deal. Any deal. He doesn’t care what’s written in it. Just give him something he can slap on his back and call a victory.

That’s why Putin keeps floating these two-day and three-day ceasefire proposals—to blunt the growing talk of a 30-day ceasefire, which creates nothing but headaches for him.

To push back against the coordinated EU-Ukraine campaign demanding a 30-day ceasefire starting yesterday, the Kremlin reached for an old trick: suggest that Ukraine revive the stalled 2022 Istanbul negotiations. Back then, Putin’s team demanded Ukraine surrender, and when Ukraine refused, they blamed Kyiv for walking away from “peace.”

So Putin simply assumed that if he pushed Ukraine to revive the Istanbul talks, Ukraine would refuse, and he could once again pin the blame for rejecting a ceasefire on them.

But once again, Putin forgot the variable that keeps jumping into the middle of his calculations: Donald Trump.

The moment Putin raised the specter of the Istanbul talks, Trump threw his full support behind the idea—almost puncturing the EU’s momentum and exposing their inability to lock Putin down. But it wasn’t a total disaster. Trump, for once, acknowledged—out loud—that Putin was trying to escape the EU-Ukraine ceasefire proposal.

And this is what Trump said yesterday:

President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly! I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!! — President Trump

As soon as President Zelensky saw the post, he moved immediately—offering to go to Turkey, ready to meet Putin in Istanbul. The news spread like wildfire, and before anyone could catch their breath, the question landed right back in the Oval Office.

With Trump scheduled to be in the Middle East this week, reporters asked if he would attend the talks in Istanbul. President Trump nodded.

He was in.

OUCH!

"I've got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we've got to get it done," Trump said before departing for the middle east.

"Don't underestimate Thursday in Turkey," Trump said.

I have no idea how the so-called master manipulators in the KGB didn’t see this coming. They started this whole “let’s talk on Thursday in Istanbul” stunt. Did they not know Trump would be in the Middle East this week? Of course they did. What they didn’t expect was Zelensky stepping up and saying he’d be there too.

For years, Zelensky has flatly refused to meet Putin face-to-face. The Kremlin simply assumed he’d never flip that script. But then he did—and from that moment, it all went haywire for Putin.

That’s the thing, isn’t it? When you’re dealing with liars—the kind who don’t just dabble in deception but live by it—you have to stay ready. You need flexibility. You can’t dig yourself into a position and hope the ground holds. Fluidity is the weapon. And in this case, it worked wonders for Zelensky.

The Kremlin is already in a tizzy, backtracking by the hour. They’re running blind, still unable to confirm whether Putin will even show up in Istanbul to meet Zelensky in person.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “all he could say” was that world leaders—including U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—welcomed Putin’s proposal with “understanding and support.” “Overall, we remain committed to a serious effort toward a long-term peaceful resolution,” Peskov added, carefully avoiding any promise that Putin himself would attend.

If I were Zelensky, I’d stay off the media for a while. Go radio silent. Then show up in Istanbul on Thursday. Do a photo-op with President Erdoğan and place a call to Donald Trump from there. And then—just as the cameras keep rolling—place four more calls.

• One to Roger Wicker.

• One to Chuck Grassley.

• One to Lindsey Graham.

• And one to John Kennedy.

• Tell them Ukraine just wants to say thank you.

• Just five calls. And let the world watch.

This is the first time I’ve seen Ukraine beat the Kremlin’s narrative machine black and blue. May many more victories follow.

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