Kremlin confidant floats prickly trial balloon for Ukraine peace

If Trump tries to pitch a Ukraine peace plan that focuses only on freezing the current conflict lines and scrapping Kyiv’s NATO hopes, the Kremlin will “tell him to screw himself.”

That’s the word from oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, an influential Kremlin insider, according to a new interview in the Financial Times.

Putin wants more. Way more. For one thing, he’ll demand the removal of President Volodymyr Zelensky. He’ll also want the US to stop sending Ukraine long-range missiles. But that’s not all. Not even close.

Russia’s president wants a broader bilateral agreement with the US on a range of global issues, including wars in the Middle East, Russia’s relationship with China, and … who knows what else. He wants nothing less than a 21st-century version of the Yalta Agreement between FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.

If the war continues, Malofeyev says, Putin is prepared to use a tactical nuclear weapon.

Malofeyev has no official position in Russia, but his words are a clear trial balloon from the Kremlin ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump, a “dealmaker” who prides himself on good ties with Putin, has promised to end the war “in a day.” He’ll have his work cut out for him.