Vladimir Putin's tenure as president of Russia is now measured in decades, not just years.

That means he can play the long game.

He waits. He's very carefully waiting for things to break down.

That's Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the new school,

also the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. And sure enough,

Putin got exactly the sort of breakdown he was waiting for on Friday.

Your country is in big trouble. I know.

At that Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance,

and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.

In three days, I heard it from Putin.

In three days.

This is something new.

In two weeks.

Of course, yes.

It's going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.

Crumbden didn't even have to do anything this time around, and the West is being suddenly ripped apart.

And Zelensky, the Kremlin obviously, doesn't like and thinks an enemy, is being berated by the United States, by Donald Trump, who the Kremlin does like.

Zelensky was at the White House to sign over mineral rights to the U.S.,

a deal that Ukraine hoped would help it get security guarantees in a future peace deal with Russia.

That blow-up put the signing on hold. And on Monday, the White House said it was pausing U.S. military

aid to Ukraine. Speaking on background, a White House official said, quote,

...