Trump’s Shocking Playbook: What He’s Ready to Hand Over to Putin to End the Ukraine War—And Why It Changes Everything

So, here we are—on the brink of a summit that sounds like it jumped straight off a cold-war movie set but with an even juicier plot twist: President Trump showing up in Alaska, not just to chat, but to roll out a welcome mat for Putin, complete with access to rare earth minerals and lifting sanctions on Russian aviation. Curious to me—how does one balance geopolitics with what feels suspiciously like a yard sale of America’s resource treasure chest? Alaska, that rugged land of pine, gold, and undiscovered oil, was once sold with grand promises of prosperity. Now, strangely, we’re looking at the possibility of inviting a war-time aggressor to reap its riches. Call me skeptical (okay, more than skeptical), but making cozy deals with a leader notorious for land grabs and conflict raises more than a few eyebrows. Is this a masterstroke of diplomacy, or are we just handing over the keys while hoping for the best? Bear with me as we unpack this unfolding political cliffhanger—because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from decades in the digital trenches, it’s that sometimes, the biggest wins come from reading between the lines. LEARN MORE

I sincerely hope that The Telegraph is wrong about this, and not just because I have no desire to see Zombie William Seward rise from the dead and pitch a tent in Lafayette Park, across the street from the president’s Gilded Palace of Sin—and thanks again, Gram.

The U.S. president will arrive at the much-anticipated meeting with his Russian counterpart on Friday armed with a number of money-making opportunities for Putin. They will include opening up Alaska’s natural resources to Moscow and lifting some of the American sanctions on Russia’s aviation industry, The Telegraph can reveal.

As well as lifting sanctions, The Telegraph can now reveal that the U.S. is preparing to offer Putin other financial incentives to end the war, including access to rare earth minerals in the areas of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia. Ukraine is thought to hold 10 percent of the world’s reserves of lithium, used in the production of batteries. Two of its largest lithium deposits are in areas held by Russia, and Putin has staked his claim to the valuable minerals found in the regions his forces occupy. “There are a range of incentives, in which a potential mineral/rare earth deal could be one,” a source with knowledge of the proposals told The Telegraph.

And, by all means, let’s make a deal with a child-stealing war criminal so we can maybe help bail out Ruptured Duck LLC. Stand by for the really big payoff.

Mr. Trump is also considering offering Russia opportunities to tap into the valuable natural resources in the strait that separates it from the U.S. Alaska, separated from Russia by just three miles of the Bering Strait, is estimated to hold significant undiscovered oil and gas reserves, including 13 percent of the world’s oil. Developing Russia’s presence in the strait would bolster Putin’s strategic interests in the Arctic region, which accounted for 80 per cent of Russia’s gas production in 2022.

Alaska’s natural wealth always has been the foundation of its inclusion in the United States. In fact, it was central to a massively researched, three-hour address to the Senate by Massachusetts’s Charles Sumner, which probably sealed the deal on the purchase. Sumner argued:

… then, the vegetable products, so far as known, chief among which are forests of pine and fir waiting for the ax; then the mineral products, among which are coal and topper, if not iron, silver, lead, and gold, besides the two great products of New England, “granite and ice”; then the furs including precious skins of black fox and sea otter, which originally tempted the settlement, and have remained to this day the exclusive object of pursuit; and lastly, the fisheries, which, in waters superabundant with animal life beyond any of the globe, seem to promise a new commerce to the country.

Now we’re going to invite in a rapacious foreign dictator in the hopes that he will stop stealing land and wealth half a world away. And cue the clueless from across the sea.

UK government sources told The Telegraph that such incentives could be acceptable to Europe so long as it was not seen as rewarding Russia. “The sense is that it has to be presented to align with public opinion around this, it cannot be seen as a reward for Putin,” one said.

As I understand the story, Russia will get to keep the land it stole from Ukraine, loot that land’s mineral wealth, and it also will be allowed to improve its position on the fringes of the American Arctic. How in the name of Baal could this not be seen as a reward for Putin? Especially since, as nearly as I can tell, his only obligation is to stop making war in Ukraine, a promise that would be as worthless as a glazier’s contract was at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. And here’s the plan for the future.

Israel’s occupation of the West Bank could be used as a model for ending the war. Russia would have military and economic control of occupied Ukraine under its own governing body, similar to Israel’s de facto rule of Palestinian territory. The idea was raised in discussions between Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy and his Russian counterparts, according to The Times.

“De facto” rule in Gaza is nice. Oy. One, two, many Sudetenlands.