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Is Putin stringing Trump along to sidestep US sanctions while bombing Ukraine?
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Russia isn’t backing off from attacking Ukraine and pummeled it with missiles and drones Thursday — just weeks after President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in an attempt to advance a peace deal.
The attack could be a signal Putin is utilizing diplomacy to buy himself more time to advance his goals and continue to attack Ukraine, all while avoiding secondary sanctions that the Trump administration has threatened to impose, according to experts.
The time to act is now, according to Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on cyber issues.
«Putin is stringing President Trump along and the added time is helping Russia to continue the bombing campaign against Ukrainian cities,» Bacon said in a Friday statement to Fox News Digital. «The longer Trump refuses to impose secondary sanctions against Russia and send high-end weapons to Ukraine, the more he looks like a simp for Putin. It is beyond time for Trump to have moral clarity and come in strong to help the democracy that is being attacked by the Russian thug.»
RUSSIA LAUNCHES LARGEST ATTACK ON UKRAINE THIS MONTH FOLLOWING TRUMP’S MEETINGS WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKYY
The time to act is now, according to Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on cyber issues. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general who is not seeking reelection in 2026, said that discussions with Putin have proven futile and have indicated Putin isn’t serious about a deal.
«We’ve seen zero results from the talks as far as Putin being willing to compromise,» Bacon said. «Although I think seeking negotiations was worthwhile initially, it showed Putin does not want peace.»
The White House has maintained that Trump has made more progress in two weeks to resolve the conflict than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, did in more than three years, and pointed to Trump’s meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy within days of each other.
«President Trump’s national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials toward a bilateral meeting to stop the killing and end the war,» White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a Friday statement to Fox News Digital.
Trump announced July 14 that he would sign off on «severe tariffs» against Russia if Moscow failed to agree to a peace deal within 50 days. He then dramatically reduced the deadline to only 10–12 days — which ended Aug. 8. But rather than lay on additional sanctions against Russia, Trump met with Putin a week later in Alaska and hailed the meeting a great success.
Still, progress stemming from the meeting appears limited. Russia did not agree to a ceasefire, and while Trump initially said a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelenskyy was in the works, Russia has shown disinterest in such a meeting.
RUSSIAN DRONE STRIKES KILL 7 IN KHARKIV DURING ZELENSKYY’S WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP
President Donald Trump, right, greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richards Aug. 15, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with NBC News Aug. 22 that no meeting had been scheduled and Putin would only agree to one if certain terms were approved beforehand. That’s not the case, he said.
«Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all,» Lavrov said.
Meanwhile, Russia launched a massive attack employing nearly 600 drones and decoys against Kyiv Thursday, killing more than 20 people. In response, the U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday, per the urging of Ukraine and several other European allies.
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Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia during former President Barack Obama’s administration, said in a post on X that Putin has only escalated attacks against Ukraine following the Alaska meeting, and said Putin is «openly mocking» Trump.
«I hope Mr. Trump and his team understand how Putin is spitting in their faces,» McFaul said in a Thursday post on X.
Additionally, Putin is onto the fact he can bypass economic consequences, and won’t seriously negotiate a deal unless he must, according to Steven Pifer, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine during former President Bill Clinton’s administration.
«I think that Putin is, in fact, stringing the president along,» Pifer told Fox News Digital. «Putin still believes he can achieve his goals, vis a vis Ukraine, on the battlefield. And we’re not going to see a serious negotiating attempt by the Russians until Putin is convinced he cannot win on the battlefield, and that continuing to try is only going to mean greater and greater cost — first and foremost, a lot more dead Russian soldiers.»
TRUMP AND PUTIN’S RELATIONSHIP TURNS SOUR AS PRESIDENT PUSHES FOR RESOLUTION WITH UKRAINE
President Donald Trump, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, hold a meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. ( Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«I just don’t see any really serious steps the administration has taken to inflict any punishment on Putin,» Pifer said. «I think Putin’s figured that out, and until Putin is disabused of that notion, he’s going to keep missing deadlines.»
Historically, Russia’s demands for a peace deal have included barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO, along with concessions on some of the borders that previously were Ukraine’s.
Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute think tank, said that because Putin knows the U.S. is eager to end the war, Putin’s peace deal requirements are an attempt to turn up the heat on Ukraine.
Following Trump’s meeting with Putin and ahead of his meeting days later with Zelenskyy, the U.S. president put the onus on Ukraine to end the war – and said that Ukraine could end the war immediately if it agreed to cede Crimea to Russia, and abandon its bid for NATO membership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Aug. 18, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
«Putin managed to sidestep U.S. sanctions in Alaska and is content slogging away in Ukraine,» Rough told Fox News Digital Monday. «But he also recognizes that the U.S. wants this war to come to an end, so he has put forward a proposal intended to appeal to Washington in the hopes that the U.S. will put pressure on Ukraine to accept its terms. If he can divide the transatlantic alliance along the way, all the better. At the very least, it helps him stave off additional U.S. sanctions.»
John Hardie, Russia program deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Putin isn’t interested in agreeing to a deal unless his terms are included in it. In the meantime, Putin is utilizing diplomacy to avoid economic consequences, Hardie said.
«I think Putin does want a deal — but only if it’s on his terms,» Hardie told Fox News Digital Monday. «Until that happens, he’s bent on continuing the war, and Russia seeks to use diplomacy to forestall tougher U.S. economic pressure and redirect Trump’s ire from Moscow to Kyiv.»
white house,donald trump,vladimir putin,volodymyr zelenskyy,russia
INTERNACIONAL
Hamas reasserts control in Gaza as Iran war dominates regional attention and global focus
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As the war with Iran dominates the region’s attention, Hamas is quietly reasserting control inside Gaza, according to videos and photos circulating on social media. An Israeli analyst and a Gazan political commentator say the developments raise fresh doubts about whether postwar plans for the enclave can move forward anytime soon.
Michael Milshtein, a senior analyst at the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, said Hamas has used the past two and a half weeks not only to rehabilitate militarily but to project visible control in public life.
«They are really making good use of them to establish their power in the public sphere, not just for military rehabilitation,» Milshtein said, describing what he said were new recruits, police deployments and even parades in central Gaza. «Hamas is here to stay.»
TRUMP LAUNCHES PHASE 2 OF GAZA PEACE PLAN — BUT HAMAS DISARMAMENT REMAINS THE REAL TEST
Hamas terrorists stand in formation as Palestinians gather on a street to watch the handover of three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Feb. 8, 2025. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
He said Gazans have reported that Hamas is also rebuilding the machinery of governance. «Their police are everywhere,» he said. «They are also improving their taxation system.» During Ramadan, he added, Hamas personnel were checking markets and mosques and «starting to build education systems.»
Mukhaimer Abu Saada, a Gazan political analyst, agrees momentum around postwar Gaza planning has largely stalled since the Iran war escalated.
«Everything with regard to Gaza has been put on hold,» Abu Saada told Fox News Digital. Before the regional war erupted, he said, developments had been «moving in the right direction,» including work around the Board of Peace, the Gaza Technical Committee and discussions tied to a possible international stabilization force.
«Yes, Hamas has taken advantage of the current situation,» Abu Saada said. «They are not under the pressure that they were before.»
Both analysts pointed to the same broad dynamic: as attention shifted to Iran, pressure on Hamas eased.
Abu Saada said that before the war, there had been what he described as serious discussions about disarmament, the deployment of an international force and Gaza’s political future. But «the enthusiasm that preceded the war has come down,» he said, adding that Gaza has been pushed to the «back burner.»
«When I talk to Palestinians, they tell me, ‘Listen, we are actually already waiting for the day after the war,’» Milshtein said. He said some expect Netanyahu to become «very indebted to Trump because of the war in Iran, and he will have to accept whatever dictates he has regarding Gaza.»
US SEEKS UN AUTHORIZATION FOR GAZA INTERNATIONAL FORCE LASTING THROUGH 2027 UNDER TRUMP PLAN
Terrorists in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah celebrate the ceasefire on Jan. 19, 2025. (TPS-IL)
At the center of that conversation is the prospect of an international stabilization force entering Gaza. But both men suggested Hamas may not see such a force as a threat.
Abu Saada said Hamas had «welcomed the deployment» of such a force and appears to view it as «restraining the Israeli army» rather than coming in «to disarm» the group. He said the possibility of troops from countries such as Indonesia may make such a deployment appear less threatening to Hamas, which could see it as a buffer against continued Israeli military operations.
Milshtein took that argument further, saying Hamas sees the model less as a peacekeeping mission than as a version of the Hezbollah-UNIFIL arrangement in Lebanon.
«Hamas says, ‘I have no problem, it will be like UNIFIL in Lebanon,’» Milshtein said. «Don’t even dream about starting to chase us, taking our weapons, and entering the tunnels. You need to protect us from Israel as well.»
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Hezbollah terrorists are taking part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta, bordering Israel, on May 21, 2023, ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Abu Saada said the next phase depends heavily on how the Iran war ends. If the Iranian regime survives and avoids collapse, he said, Hamas will draw encouragement from that outcome.
«If Iran is not defeated, if the Iranian regime is not collapsing, that’s going to be some kind of moral support for Hamas,» he said.
war with iran,hamas,terrorism,israel
INTERNACIONAL
Trump lawyer in Jack Smith case draws conservative backing after DOJ praise rattles ‘elite’ legal conference
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President Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer received swift backing from conservative legal figures online after facing pushback at a recent American Bar Association (ABA) conference for praising the Trump Department of Justice.
Attorney John Lauro, who defended Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election case, said the DOJ was «in a better place» under Trump, causing fellow panelists and audience members to shudder, according to a Bloomberg Law report of the event.
Lauro told Fox News Digital in a brief phone call on Monday that the event «was a highly triggered environment.»
«I called out the ABA and other elite legal organizations for not condemning the prior administration in holding political sham trials and show trials, particularly the one directed at President Trump, where the Biden administration wanted to put him on trial in 90 days, which is shorter than it takes for a traffic ticket to get worked through in D.C.,» Lauro said.
LABOR DEPARTMENT ORDERS LAWYERS TO CUT TIES WITH ABA, SLAMS GROUP AS ‘RADICAL’ ACTIVIST FORCE
President Donald Trump’s attorney John Lauro, left, speaks to the media at following his appearance at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The tense panel put a spotlight on the Trump administration’s ongoing fight with the ABA as it spurred DOJ officials and lawyers to voice their disdain for the organization.
«The ABA is trash and I’m proud to never have been a member,» Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said. «Its stunt trashing Judge [Robert] Bork did it for me.»
«As if we needed anymore proof of the absolute disgrace that is the ABA,» wrote Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana. «John Lauro, one of the best trial attorneys in the country and patriot, treated terribly for simply daring to voice a view contrary to the liberal white collar bar.»
Lauro said during the panel, held at a conference in San Diego, that he had «the unique experience of representing a political figure who was probably more abused by the criminal justice system in America than any other political figure ever.»
«Everything that has gone on in the current administration must be looked at from the eyes of a man who was victimized by the criminal justice system,» Lauro said.
Among those rallying behind Lauro was also Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan, who said the ABA «represents a hyperpartisan faction.»
«That’s fine! But they should play no role in law school accreditation (or judicial selection),» Wessan said.
Former DOJ official Jeff Clark, an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 2020 election case, called Lauro «a bold man of principle.»
WHO ARE THE 6 CO-CONSPIRATORS NAMED IN TRUMP’S JAN. 6 INDICTMENT? HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW
Another social media user, an anonymous Georgia-based legal commentator, said that while he disagreed with Lauro’s comments, he was «jealous» that Lauro «had the opportunity to tell a room of the type of haughty, effete defense lawyers who hang around at ABA conferences to go f— themselves. He should have taken it.»
Lauro’s remarks had elicited pushback from participants. Nancy Gertner, a Harvard University law professor and retired federal judge, responded that any issues surrounding Trump’s prosecutions did not «justify the fracture of American democracy.»
Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner said: «I wanted to thank Mr. Lauro for admitting the emperor has no clothes. The rule of law is dead because the people in this room and the Department of Justice pissed off President Trump.»
John Lauro, who served as a defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, exits federal court in Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«I can’t believe that you think that that’s normal or good that one person can dictate who the Department of Justice investigates and indicts,» lawyer and panel moderator Sandy Weinberg said.
Republicans have long argued the ABA promotes Democrat-aligned viewpoints and that its institutional presence in the legal world is a disadvantage to conservatives. The ABA’s website showcases work that includes support for «LGBTQ+» initiatives, abortion access, stricter gun control measures, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The ABA has also taken a stance against Trump, condemning what its president described as the administration’s «wide-scale affronts to the rule of law.»
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IT WILL NO LONGER COMPLY WITH RATINGS FOR JUDICIAL NOMINEES
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump on recent Supreme Court rulings in the briefing room at the White House on June 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The ABA has for decades wielded enormous power, weighing in on nominations of federal judges, engaging in litigation and helping firms across the legal industry with recruitment. One arm of the ABA also handles law school accreditation.
Under Trump, several departments and agencies, including the DOJ and Department of Labor, have told political appointees they cannot affiliate with the ABA in their official capacity.
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The DOJ, meanwhile, moved to terminate more than $3 million in federal grants to ABA programs, though a judge ruled the move was unconstitutional. Attorney General Pam Bondi told the ABA last year that the DOJ would not give advanced notice to the organization about judicial nominees, a reversal of a decades-long practice of allowing the organization to rate the nominees before they advance in the Senate.
Fox News Digital reached out to the ABA for comment.
justice department,federal judges,donald trump,politics,law
INTERNACIONAL
Trump le pidió a China postergar la reunión con el presidente Xi Jinping por la guerra con Irán
REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Foto de archivo
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, afirmó este lunes que planea retrasar aproximadamente un mes el viaje a China que tenía previsto realizar a finales de marzo para reunirse con su homólogo, Xi Jinping, debido a la guerra con Irán.
“Debido a la guerra, quiero estar aquí. Siento que tengo que estar aquí. Así que hemos solicitado posponerlo un mes más o menos, y espero con interés estar con ellos. Tenemos una muy buena relación”, explicó el presidente a la prensa.
La portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, había avanzado este mismo lunes que existía la posibilidad de que se retrasara el viaje de Trump a Beijing, previsto entre el 31 de marzo y el 3 de abril, porque el mandatario está centrado en la ofensiva en Irán.
Trump sugirió el fin de semana en una entrevista con el Financial Times que podría retrasar la visita al gigante asiático hasta conocer la postura de Beijing sobre si está dispuesto a ayudar a garantizar la seguridad del estrecho de Ormuz, vía clave para el tránsito del petróleo que ha sido bloqueada por Irán en represalia por los ataques estadounidenses.
“El presidente tiene muchas ganas de visitar China”, dijo Leavitt. “Las fechas podrían moverse. Como comandante en jefe, su prioridad número uno en este momento es garantizar el éxito de la Operación Furia Épica”, agregó. Más temprano, en Fox News, la portavoz había matizado que el encuentro no estaba en peligro pero que un retraso era perfectamente posible.
REUTERS/Abdul Saboor
El secretario del Tesoro, Scott Bessent, ofreció su perspectiva desde París, donde se reunió con el viceprimer ministro chino He Lifeng en una ronda de conversaciones comerciales destinada a preparar la agenda de la cumbre. Bessent subrayó en CNBC que cualquier postergación no tendría nada que ver con la disputa sobre el estrecho. “El presidente quiere permanecer en Washington para coordinar el esfuerzo bélico”, explicó. “Viajar al exterior en un momento como este puede no ser lo más conveniente.”
La velocidad del desarrollo del conflicto iraní reconfiguró la agenda diplomática de Washington. Trump dijo el domingo que había contactado a cerca de siete países sobre la posibilidad de sumar fuerzas navales para proteger el tránsito de petroleros. Sobre China fue ambiguo: sugirió haber extendido una invitación a Beijing para unirse a la coalición, pero añadió que “ya veremos” si responde.
La visita sería la primera de un presidente estadounidense a China desde el viaje de Trump en 2017. Se acordó en noviembre tras la tregua comercial entre ambas potencias y estaba concebida para avanzar en comercio, seguridad y relaciones bilaterales. Trump y Xi se habían visto cinco meses antes en Busan, Corea del Sur, donde pactaron una tregua arancelaria de un año después de que los gravámenes mutuos llegaran brevemente a niveles de tres dígitos.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Beijing no confirmó las fechas —algo habitual en su protocolo— y su cancillería eludió pronunciarse sobre las exigencias de Washington. El portavoz Lin Jian se limitó a afirmar que “la diplomacia entre jefes de Estado desempeña un papel estratégico insustituible” en las relaciones bilaterales y confirmó que ambas partes mantienen comunicación sobre la visita.
La postura china combina cautela retórica con inacción práctica. Beijing recibe aproximadamente un tercio de su petróleo a través del estrecho —Trump cifró esa dependencia en el 90%, cifra que contradicen los datos de aduanas chinas, según los cuales Rusia es el mayor proveedor individual—. China no respondió al llamado de Washington. Su diario oficial Global Times argumentó que la propuesta busca trasladar los riesgos de “una guerra que Washington inició y no puede terminar”.
El barril de Brent cotizaba este lunes en torno a los 101 dólares, según FactSet, tras tocar un máximo de 126 dólares en los días más álgidos del conflicto. En Estados Unidos, el galón de gasolina alcanzó los 3,72 dólares, casi 80 centavos más que hace un mes, según la Asociación Americana del Automóvil. China afronta sus propias presiones: Beijing redujo su objetivo de crecimiento para 2026 al 4,5%-5%, el más modesto desde 1991.
Las conversaciones entre Bessent y He Lifeng avanzaron este lunes en su segundo día. Según una fuente al tanto de las negociaciones, los representantes chinos mostraron apertura a ampliar sus compras de productos agrícolas estadounidenses —aves de corral, carne de vacuno y cultivos distintos a la soja— y ambas delegaciones abordaron el flujo de minerales de tierras raras y fórmulas para gestionar el comercio bilateral. La cumbre en China sigue siendo el horizonte al que apunta toda esa negociación.
Corporate Events,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy
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