Vladimir Kara-Murza, released in August from a Russian prison where he was incarcerated after criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, appeared on CNN today to discuss President Donald Trump and his administration’s stance on negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia.
Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. might have to “walk away” from the negotiation process if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn’t accept a U.S. peace plan that would require Ukraine to accept Crimea as a Russian territory.
That requirement, Zelensky has repeatedly said, goes against the Ukrainian constitution. (Crimea, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, has been under Russian occupation since 2014.)
[Note: The anti-Putin activist and journalist Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison; he was released in 2024 from a prison colony in Serbia as part of a prisoner exchange deal involving 26 people from seven different countries including American reporter Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal.]
“This is Putin’s Christmas wish list. He could not have got a better deal from the United States. The Kremlin must be running out of champagne bottles by now”.
— Vladimir Kara-Murza (@vkaramurza) April 25, 2025
On @OutFrontCNN to discuss Trump’s stunning statement that not taking all of Ukraine is a “big concession” from Putin. pic.twitter.com/o2HmgW3DRi
Kara-Murza, who has said that top Trump officials are acting as propagandists for the Kremlin, was asked on CNN to comment on Trump’s latest statement, that not annexing all of Ukraine is a “big concession” by Putin.
Kara-Murza replied: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry anymore.” He added: “This is Putin’s Christmas wish list. He could not have got a better deal from the United States.”
Kara-Murza said: “The Kremlin must be running out of champagne by now because they’ve been opening a new bottle ever since the 20th of January.”
One American replied to Kara-Murza’s interview: “Even with the knowledge of the whole situation, many Americans are still in support of trump, that’s the scary part of it.”
