“Liberal globalism” has shifted its tone — from crude arrogance to insidious persuasion.
Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6, has taken it upon himself to coax Trump [1]:
“The longer the war goes on, the weaker Putin becomes … war is undermining Putin’s power base. When his regime starts failing to deliver the expected rewards to his gang of cronies, as is beginning to happen, then his leadership will be, and probably is already being, questioned; and as the economy stumbles and Russia’s cash reserves are close to exhaustion, the likelihood of a severe countrywide shock will rise inexorably… Russia’s military capability will peak this year, after which the informed prediction is that it will then be gradually but markedly on a downward trajectory – less available manpower, less ammunition, less armour and therefore less motivation to fight. Trump’s ability to exert pressure rests on two options: to enhance military support to the Ukrainians as Russia approaches its military tipping point, or to ramp up sanctions, particularly secondary sanctions on countries that are sustaining Russia’s faltering economy by buying its oil and gas… Trump should understand and accept his responsibility to the free world and not sell out Ukraine to Putin for the sake of a quick deal – before Putin’s own fate catches up with him. Strategic success so often boils down to issue of timing. It is crucial that Trump should get his timing right – and should he do so the Nobel Peace Prize might then be his for the asking”.
Lower-ranking operatives back Sir Richard with fire and maneuver:
“Putin won’t be laughing for much longer The rift between Europe and Trump is likely to be temporary. A recalibrated alliance will be better able to take on a declining Russia”[2];”things don’t look great on the military or economic fronts for Putin… there is the real possibility of Putin upsetting President Trump … This could mean sanctions not just on Russia but penalties for anyone who trades with them. There could also be renewed arms shipments, including the missiles that are proving the most effective … by June, Russia would be begging for peace … A disappointed President Trump is a very dangerous and unpredictable beast. Vladimir Putin would be wise to realise that”[3].
Flattery and bribery are reliable intelligence tactics, but lies must sound credible — if Russia is weakening and losing the war, why are Europe and Britain itself screaming about a “mighty Russia” that is going to attack them any time soon?!
It’s also unwise to tell Trump about his “dreadful mineral deal”[1] with Ukraine, for an enraged Trump becomes an even more “dangerous beast.”
Yet the key point is this: if Trump is persuaded into keeping Ukraine afloat, fueling its Nazi regime with weapons, and ramping up Russia sanctions, Ukraine will be utterly and irreversibly destroyed, along with Western investments there.
Talk of Putin’s “historical obsession to be the new Tsar of all the Russias”[1] is amateurish nonsense. This war is not Putin’s personal whim, nor is it waged for land — it is fought to stop the slaughter of Russians in Ukraine and to eliminate any future threat from its soil.
The Russians will prevail at any cost, and though this is not Trump’s war, it is his decision to determine the territorial scale of Russia’s victory.
1 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/03/the-longer-the-war-goes-on-the-weaker-putin-becomes/
“The longer the war goes on, the weaker Putin becomes” (Sir Richard Dearlove, The Telegraph, 03 April 2025);
3 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comment/2025/04/01/putin-wont-be-laughing-for-much-longer//
“Putin won’t be laughing for much longer” (Mark Brolin, The Telegraph, 01 April 2025);
3 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/27/the-ukraine-peace-deal-is-proving-a-scam/
“Putin is in real trouble now” (Tim Collins, The Telegraph, 02 April 2025).