Republican Senator Tillis Accuses Putin of Manipulating Trump, — The Hill
Republican Senator Tom Tillis stated that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is manipulating U.S. President Donald Trump, diverting American support away from Ukraine. He also criticized the possible easing of sanctions against Russia and called for an investigation into who is blocking the supply of Patriot missiles to Ukraine from third countries.
According to the senator, history will judge the U.S. decision to abandon support for Ukraine negatively. He emphasized that Putin’s claim about the alleged need to “denazify” Ukraine to justify a full-scale invasion is a lie.
“The Russians are lying. Putin is lying. Putin is playing President Trump like a fiddle. History will not be kind to an America that failed to stand up for the Western world if Putin actually gets his way,” Tom Tillis said in an interview with CNN.
The senator also called the Trump administration’s agreements with Russia—regarding the import of hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Russian diesel fuel and the lifting of sanctions—a mistake. In his view, the United States may come to regret such decisions.
In addition, Tillis criticized Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold a trilateral summit involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, calling it “absurd.”
Earlier, Tom Tillis, along with three other Republican senators—John Cornyn of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—signed a letter to the Pentagon’s inspector general.
In the document, the senators called for an investigation into whether high-ranking officials at the U.S. Department of Defense had ordered restrictions on Ukraine’s access to the Starshield satellite system and U.S. intelligence data, and whether they had prior knowledge of the decision.
The senator also raised the issue of supplying Ukraine with U.S. air defense systems and ammunition for them.
According to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the need for Patriot missiles, which third countries are prepared to provide in coordination with U.S. defense officials.
“President Zelenskyy also noted that Ukraine needs, in particular, Patriot missiles, which third countries are ready to provide in coordination with U.S. defense officials.
I want to know who in the government is refusing to grant permission for these deliveries. After all, we’re not even talking about missiles from our own stockpiles,” Tom Tillis stated.
Thus, the senator called on U.S. authorities to explain the reasons for possible delays in approving the delivery of Patriot missiles and to investigate the circumstances surrounding the restriction of Ukraine’s access to U.S. satellite and intelligence capabilities.
This was reported by The Hill, citing Tillis’s interview with CNN.
The Kremlin believes that the deterioration of relations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicates a weakening of Western support for Kyiv. Moscow views this as a victory and hopes to capitalize on the situation to extract concessions from Ukraine—particularly regarding the Donbas—and to expand economic cooperation with the United States.
During his visit to Russia, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to discuss proposals with Russian leaders on ending the war in Ukraine. The trip could be a step toward organizing talks involving Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vladimir Putin.
It should be noted that the Trump administration plans to change the format of the negotiations regarding Ukraine.
As a reminder, Witkoff will travel to St. Petersburg after meeting with Zelenskyy.
Prior to this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Special Presidential Representative Steve Witkoff began talks in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
