The U-turn of the USA

Dividing up Europe? Kremlin can hardly believe its luck

Trump has adopted Putin's rhetoric.

(Bild: TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP)

Donald Trump has delivered Ukraine to the knife. The US president is acting as a bulldozer for Moscow and is finally tearing down old certainties for Europe. Cheers on Russian state television show how dangerous the situation really is. An overview.

"Those who are patient will be richly rewarded", Putin must be thinking these days. After the disgraceful performance of his army at the beginning of his invasion of Ukraine, he made a radical change of strategy, which is now bearing fruit. He has opted for attrition through time instead of conquest through force.

Almost three years have passed since the beginning of his invasion in violation of international law, during which the West has stood by Ukraine's side. Since then, economic crises, polarization and the crumbling of old certainties have turned the political map in Europe and the USA upside down. New faces are sitting at the negotiating table - above all US President Trump and his MAGA lackeys.

What used to be no longer applies
The past few hours have impressively demonstrated that nationalist thought patterns have completely taken over in the USA. Theodore Roosevelt used to say: "Speak softly and carry a big stick, [then] you will go far." The days of "big stick" diplomacy in the USA are now just a memory. In other words, a strategy based on diplomatic relations and the assertion of good intentions - paired with a powerful military apparatus and high economic power. 

But Trump can only speak loudly. Previous partners such as Ukraine and Europe are no longer consulted, but presented with a fait accompli. Threats (Greenland, tariffs, etc.) included. As an ambassador of the new foreign policy, the US President sent his Vice President JD Vance to Europe last week for the Munich Security Conference. His remarkable speech left the European security apparatus stunned. The message: You are now on your own!

Europe has a censorship and democracy problem, while at the same time Vance promoted far-right parties such as the AfD. It was a moral sermon without substance. At the same time, liberal media such as the AP news agency or the New York Times are being denied access to the White House in the USA. They don't like the reporting. Tulsi Gabbard, a conspiracy theorist with close ties to Russia, sits at the head of the secret services. And with Elon Musk as the nation's quasi-treasurer, Trump is leading the USA into the age of oligarchy.

Musk is leading the way ...

(Bild: ANGELA WEISS)

So it only fits into the picture that the US president is completely subservient to the Kremlin's narrative. Ukraine itself is to blame for Russia's invasion. Volodymyr Zelensky is a "dictator without a choice" who will soon have no country left. US support for the attacked country is clearly no longer based on Western solidarity. Trump links the aid to access to rare earths from Ukraine, for example. The Republicans apparently see this as an opportunity to polish up the ailing US budget.

"We are using the threat of Russian violence to extract things for ourselves. This has nothing to do with moderating a conflict," remarked the renowned US historian Timothy Snyder. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is representative of the Americans' 180-degree turnaround. Two years ago, he called Putin a "gangster" who wanted to "install a puppet government" in Kiev. Trump wants to deliver exactly that to the Kremlin leader by calling for Zelensky to be voted out of office. Meanwhile, the former hardliner Rubio vouches for Putin's noble intentions.

In Europe, all the alarm bells are naturally ringing. New armaments programs are being hastily launched. In the NATO state of Denmark, for example, the motto since Wednesday has been: "Buy, buy, buy!" The disarmament policy of recent years has been a mistake. Military experts such as Carlo Masala fear that the next step will be the withdrawal of US troops from Europe. "If Europe doesn't get into gear now and replace US armed forces and weapons in Europe with its own, then it will soon be defencelessly at the mercy of Russian imperialism," he told Der Spiegel.

Kremlin can hardly believe its luck
Trump's short-sighted world view, his admiration for autocrats and his self-obsession as an existential threat to Europe? One look at Russian state television is enough to see that the Kremlin can hardly believe its luck. It is already openly fantasizing about the division of the continent between the superpowers. 

Putin's chief propagandist Vladimir Solovyov is dreaming of the big time in prime time: "Why not form a military coalition between Russia and America and divide up Europe? Who needs that? I think that's a great idea." A society is being prepared for even greater conflicts.

As a reminder, before Trump took office, Moscow was so desperate that Putin formed emergency alliances with North Korea and Iran in order to remain viable on the battlefield. Now there is talk of the redivision of Europe.

Biden swore "unconditional support" for Ukraine. That's over now ...

(Bild: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

China as the laughing third
Trump's departure from the international stage leaves a power vacuum that will undoubtedly be filled. Precisely by the state that he himself has identified as the greatest threat: China.

By withdrawing from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Human Rights Council, the USA is clearing the way for China to turn the UN system into an instrument of its global power, as the US magazine "The Atlantic" analyzes. The dismantling of USAID also makes China even more important for developing countries. The old rule of thumb applies here: development aid is also hard-hitting geopolitics. Trump's bizarre plan to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip will make Beijing even more powerful in the Middle East.

The US president may be right that Europe should mind its own business more. But by handing over global leadership to authoritarian states like Russia and China, he is creating a world that Western civilization actually wanted to leave behind.