Edward Luce, at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, said Trump badly misread Vladimir Putin, moving from promises to end the Ukraine war in “24 hours” to quietly dropping plans for a second summit once it became clear Putin had no intention of settling. He argued that for Putin, the war is existential and he will not accept a face‑saving frozen conflict that lets Trump claim a Nobel‑worthy peace, and warned that Trump’s approach is driving rivals and uneasy partners into a shared anti‑American camp, eroding US leverage and soft power.