But as the year comes to an end, Putin is projecting confidence that time is on his side and that winning is inevitable. That spectacle was followed by a very public dressing-down of Zelensky by Trump and Vance in the Oval Office. The relationship between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump was turbulent in early 2025, but appeared to heal as the year progressed. The US president, who often has words of praise for Putin, expressed frustration with his Russian counterpart. Asked later about the video during his year-end press conference, Putin was dismissive, mocking the Ukrainian president as “a talented artist” engaged in theatrics.
