Vladimir Putin
President of Russia. Subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued March 17, 2023, over the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
Profile text here is limited to what the cited stories establish; this is not a biography.
Stories 6
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Foreign Policy
He signed the Russia sanctions law in September and waived it in October, after a phone call with Putin about diesel
On October 9, 2026 Trump agreed with Putin by phone to let Russian diesel back into world markets; a week later he waived the core of the Lindsey Graham sanctions act he had signed 28 days earlier, as Russia offered nothing in return.
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Foreign Policy
Give up the Donbas or face 'a very bad thing': the 2026 pressure campaign on Kyiv while Moscow gives up nothing
Through 2026 the administration pressed Ukraine to quit the Donbas it still holds while easing pressure on Moscow; Putin kept bombing Kyiv, and 61 percent of Ukrainians and 76 percent of Americans reject the trade.
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Foreign Policy
Red carpet in Anchorage, Kremlin talking points in the peace plan: how Russia's terms became the US position
Trump hosted Putin on US soil in August 2025 with no deal and no ceasefire; by November a 28-point US plan asked Ukraine to give up Donetsk, cap its army and forgo NATO, and leaked calls showed the US envoy coaching the Kremlin.
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Foreign Policy
The Oval Office blow-up, then the switch-off: how the US cut weapons and intelligence to Ukraine for a week
After the February 28, 2025 Oval Office clash, the Trump administration paused weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Ukraine; both resumed on March 11 only after Kyiv accepted a US ceasefire proposal and a minerals deal.
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Foreign Policy
'Where's my favorite dictator?': a sourced catalog of Trump's affection for strongmen
From 'we fell in love' with Kim Jong Un to 'genius' for Putin, 'my favorite dictator' for el-Sisi, campaigning for Orbán, a state dinner for Xi and shutting down a Khashoggi question for MBS, the record spans both terms.
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Foreign Policy
Helsinki to St Petersburg: the documented record of Trump siding with Putin
From taking Putin's word over US intelligence in Helsinki in 2018, to calling the 2022 invasion 'genius,' to nine envoy meetings and a diesel deal in 2026, the record of Trump's deference to Putin is long, public and bipartisan-documented.