Putin on the Ropes? Trump Tosses Him a Lifeline
- john raymond
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
When a regime begins to flail, it does not reach for grace. It reaches for its most dependable tools—deceit, coercion, and loyal proxies. In Vladimir Putin’s case, that proxy is the current President of the United States.
On June 30, 2025, as Russia's economy stumbled under the weight of sanctions, depleted reserves, and war fatigue, Donald Trump’s administration quietly issued General License No. 115B, a seemingly technical Treasury document that—when read carefully—reveals itself as a strategic betrayal.
This license reauthorizes transactions with a who’s who of Russian state banks—Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, Rosbank, even the Central Bank of the Russian Federation—so long as those transactions are “related to civil nuclear energy.”
At first glance, this might seem innocuous. But such allowances aren’t about benign power plants. They’re about leverage, liquidity, and legal cover. This license is a license to cheat—to evade, rewire, and rebuild the financial arteries of Putin’s regime.
We need to be clear about what just happened. Russia is losing men, markets, and money. Its central bank has blown through reserves to cover budget deficits. Its “National Wealth Fund” has cratered, dropping two-thirds since the full-scale invasion began. Russia’s economic ministers are warning of recession.
And so—just as things begin to tighten—Trump cracks the door for Putin to breathe again.
This is not an isolated act. It is a pattern. From delaying aid to Ukraine in his first term, to calling NATO obsolete, to praising Russia’s strength while undermining sanctions regimes, Trump has consistently acted in ways that serve the interests of the Kremlin.
Now, with this new license, he’s done it again—only this time under the guise of energy policy.
Let’s also be clear on what “civil nuclear” actually means in this context. It’s a cover term, broadly defined and poorly enforced. Funds moved under this category are fungible; they enable Moscow to redirect other budgetary resources toward war, propaganda, or repression. This is not about energy—it’s about economic triage.
And the timing is not accidental.
Vladimir Putin is on the ropes. His regime faces growing discontent, military exhaustion, declining industrial output, and crumbling foreign partnerships. China is cautious. Iran is disappointed. Even allies like India are delaying weapons purchases. But into this moment of vulnerability steps Trump—not with condemnation, not with strength, not with clarity—but with a quiet bureaucratic gift.
A lifeline.
So the question becomes: why? Why now? And why undercut global unity just when sanctions are biting hardest?
Because Trump is not just incompetent. He is committed. He is invested in the survival of Putin’s regime—not just ideologically, but structurally.
The collapse of the Kremlin would expose the full depth of the Trump–Russia entanglement. If Putin goes down, Trump knows he risks going down with him.
This is not about nuclear energy. This is not about diplomacy. This is not about strategy.
This is about loyalty.
And in the face of a collapsing tyrant, Donald Trump is choosing once again to betray the very nation he claims to lead. If Putin is on the ropes, it is the job of the free world to press the advantage.
But instead, Trump is tossing Putin a lifeline.
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