“All of these crimes are sanctioned by putin, the kremlin and the head of the russian orthodox church in moscow”

Roman Sheremeta

Aug 27, 2025

I have wanted to post about the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska last Friday, but I have struggled to write about it, unsure of how to even begin.

I think most people agree that Putin is an evil man. He is so evil that there are over 40,000 documented cases of war crimes that Russia has committed against Ukrainians. Please let that number sink in; this is 40,000 separate incidents of Russians committing horrific crimes against Ukrainian children, women, and men, of all ages, and against Ukrainian soldiers on Ukrainian soil. The conservative Christian war correspondent and CBN journalist that we often listen to, said this past weekend, that some of the war crimes that Putin/Russia has committed in Ukraine are so evil and barbaric, that most people could not stomach hearing about them. All of these acts are sanctioned by Putin, the Kremlin, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow.

Putin is a chronic liar and never keeps his word. You only need to search a very little bit to find all the memorandums, treaties, and agreements he has given over the years and has not kept.

Putin and the Kremlin have often stated in speeches that Ukraine is not a legitimate country, and they despise the Ukrainian people.

Putin has stated for many years that Joseph Stalin is his hero. Stalin also hated Ukrainians and purposely caused the starvation of around 4 million Ukrainians in the span of 1 year, 1932-1933.

Do you hear in the news how, almost daily, since the beginning of this year, Russia has been attacking civilians in Ukraine? Those attacks continued while he met with Trump on Friday and every day since. While Putin is killing Ukrainian civilians, whom he hates, Ukraine is almost daily now striking strategic targets; military warehouses and factories producing the weapons that are killing Ukrainian civilians; military airports that house the planes used to launch missiles to kill Ukrainian civilians; oil depots and refineries which provide the fuel for their planes; railway supply lines for their military, and naval vessels used to launch and transport weapons. Ukraine is doing its best to strike at Russia’s ability to wage war against the Ukrainian people, while Russia aims to kill Ukrainian civilians. Yet, we never hear America praising Zelensky and Ukraine for ethically defending their country.

We have heard in the past week that President Trump, others in his administration, and conservative news, reference the ‘two warring countries’, or the ‘two warring presidents.’ This is such a gross misrepresentation of this war. Those statements imply that Ukraine is as guilty as Russia for being at war. This war is 100% an act of aggression by Putin and Russia, and Ukraine is simply fighting for its very existence as a free country. It is statements like that which get people pointing the finger as much at Zelensky, if not more, than at Putin. It is wrong and unjust.

I am grateful that Trump is attempting to end this war, and if he is successful, we fear it will not be a lasting peace because he is making a deal with the devil. Trump showed Putin so much honor in Alaska, a man who is solely responsible for over 1 million people dying, and crimes against innocent Ukrainian people. It is dangerous for Ukraine, Europe, and the US to treat Putin as an honorable leader and as though he really wants peace and his word can be trusted. Trump has said that there must be an exchange of land between Ukraine and Russia for peace to be possible. I cannot tell you how upsetting this is to Ukrainians. They have fought so hard against this barbaric enemy, and then to be told that ‘you will have to exchange lands with Russia’, which actually only means they lose their own land and must give it to their enemy, that they must reward their enemy.

In the past two weeks, I have heard quite a few analysts say that if Trump were to simply put in place the sanctions and secondary tariffs he has threatened on Russia, this war would be over in six months. It is disconcerting that it seems the only way to end this war is to make Ukraine give up a lot, while Russia gets rewarded. It is frustrating to constantly hear the phrase, ‘We just need to stop the killing,’ when the sanctions would stop the killing, bring a just end to this war, and make the aggressor, an evil party, be made to pay a price for what they’ve done.

Lastly, I would like to state the obvious: no man is perfect and infallible. If you really consider all the facts, an imperfect man like Trump could be making a mistake with how he is dealing with Russia. I don’t remember the man’s name, but a very calm, intelligent, retired Republican politician said this week that, sadly, Trump is making a lot of mistakes with how he is dealing with Putin, and Ukraine, and the world may have to pay a very high price. He also stated that Trump is not the only one holding the cards; President Zelensky holds cards as to what happens to his country; Europe holds cards because they have a lot at stake, as far as if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he will definitely try to begin taking European countries; the US Congress holds cards because they can have influence over Trump’s decisions; and US citizens hold cards because they can let their voices be heard that they are not happy with how President Trump is handling this situation, especially how he wants to reward Putin and punish Ukraine due to this war.

When Biden was President, I criticized some things he was doing regarding Ukraine in my posts. My Democrat friends never bashed me nor got angry with me over it. In fact, they would leave me comments and say they agreed with me. I’m asking you to take it seriously how evil Putin is and what a threat he is to the world. Please consider what kind of man he is and think about all of the atrocities and war crimes he has committed against the Ukrainian people in 3 1/2 years, and let Trump hear your voice that he should not be rewarded for all this evil he has done.

‘It is Christ’s love that compels us’ to serve as missionaries in Ukraine, where He called us, to share the gospel with them, and to show the love of Christ to the Ukrainian people, especially during the time of this war of aggression against them. It is also, however, ‘Christ’s love which compels us’, to stand up for what is right and to stand up for justice for the oppressed. We continue to pray for Ukraine and do the Lord’s work here. We also pray for President Trump, that he will make right and just decisions, and that he will not be deceived by evil men.”

Thank you for your prayers and for standing with Ukraine.

Rhonda and Mark Blessing, Founding Missionaries at Living Word Church