Donald Trump was frightened by whatever Vladimir Putin told him in Alaska, claimed Mr Boycheko (Image: GETTY)
Donald Trump’s muted response to the latest deadly missile and drone strikes on Kyiv has been condemned as a sign of weakness by a leading Ukrainian commentator, who warned that only China’s Xi Jinping now has the power to halt Russia’s war. But Mr Boycheko also believes Russia is now China’s “little brother” with Beijing effectively waging a proxy war on the West.
The US President spoke after the massive August 28 raids on Ukraine’s capital that killed at least 23 people, including four children. Russian forces targeted residential areas, a shopping mall, and offices used by the European Union and the British Council in one of the largest bombardments of the war. In comments posted on X and reiterated by aides, Mr Trump said he was “not happy” about the attacks but “not surprised,” describing them as “not necessary” and of “very bad timing.” He raised eyebrows with his characterisation of the situation as a long-running conflict, and claim that “these are two countries that have been at war for a very long time”.
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Yuriy Boyechko says only one person can stop Putin
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt went further, stressing that Mr Trump’s reaction reflected Ukraine’s own drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. The comparison — effectively treating Moscow’s bombardment of civilian areas as equivalent to Kyiv’s targeting of energy infrastructure — has drawn criticism for failing to condemn Russia’s aggression outright.
Mr Boycheko, Founder and CEO of Hope for Ukraine, who now lives in the United States, believes Mr Trump fundamentally misreads both the war and the Russian president’s psychology.
He told Express.co.uk: “He started this whole journey on the wrong foot. He thought he could come into office, use his personal relationship with Putin, charm him, bribe him, or sweet-talk him into leaving Ukraine. But Putin is not that type of person. Putin has no feelings. He is like a computer.”
Mr Boycheko argued that Mr Trump is now politically cornered, too afraid to wield the levers of US power against Moscow yet unwilling to admit failure. He said: “What we are seeing is not even lukewarm — it’s a scared reaction. He is afraid to condemn anything Putin does, because I believe Putin told him things that really scared him.”
Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jin Ping (Image: GETTY)
In Mr Boycheko’s view, the drawn-out “peace process” that Mr Trump has promoted, including this summer’s summit with Putin in Alaska, is merely buying Russia time to inflict further damage on Ukraine.
He said: “Putin is very crafty, wasting time with meetings that produce no results. These so-called peace talks could drag on for four years while people are dying.”
Instead, Mr Boycheko said the only leader who can stop the conflict immediately is China’s president. He said: “There are only one person who can end this war today: Xi Jinping.
“If he picked up the phone and told Putin, ‘If you don’t stop, we will stop supporting your economy,’ Russia would leave Ukraine.”
China was now using Russia as a proxy in a wider global contest, Mr Boycheko claimed. He said: “Russia is the younger brother of China right now. The Chinese own Russia.
Yuriy Boycheko, founder of Hope for Ukraine (Image: Express)
“They want America, Britain, Germany focused here while they chip away at influence elsewhere. This is much bigger than just Ukraine. It is a global struggle between democracies and autocracies.”
Mr Boycheko also urged European powers to assume greater responsibility as US policy drifts. He said: “The whole strategy of relying on the United States for your security is a road to nowhere.
“Britain, Germany and France need to come up with their own plan to help Ukraine, build more drones and weapons themselves, and restructure their militaries to deal with Russia. By protecting Ukraine, they protect themselves.”
Mr Boycheko also called on Western governments to intensify pressure on Russia’s finances, particularly through sanctions against the “shadow fleet” of ships carrying its oil.
He said: “The only thing that can stop this war is if Russia runs out of money. That’s the bottom line. The United States knows the shipping companies involved. They all use Swift.
“You can track them easily and put them on warning. But Europeans also need to look at themselves — Hungary and Slovakia are still buying Russian oil, refining it, and selling it on under their own label.”
Ultimately, Mr Boycheko predicted that Russia will be undone not on the battlefield but at home. He said: “What brought the Soviet Union down? Inflation. This war costs them a billion dollars a day. Once the fridge starts getting empty, that’s when Russians will complain.
“And when regions like Chechnya or Tatarstan see Moscow can’t supply them, they will look elsewhere and the whole system will begin to fall apart.”
Despite the grim picture, he nevertheless retained some hope, saying: “I do think this is going to end. It just depends how soon.
“If leaders in Washington and Europe really come up with a strong strategy that hits Putin where it hurts — his wallet — it could end sooner than we expect. But if there is no action, it will be a very long, dragged-out war.”
