German media alarmed by Trump-Putin talks: "Putin treats Trump like his agent."

German media spare no criticism after the phone conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Commentators emphasise that the Russian president aims to weaken Ukraine and bring it into his sphere of influence, and the U.S. president, viewed as a Russian agent, may lose this political game.

Nikolas Busse from "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" notes that "Putin treats Trump like his agent." "The Russian president's goal is a weakened Ukraine, which he can reintegrate into his area of power," writes Busse. He emphasises that America should not engage in this game, as it would be an unfavourable "deal" for them.

Putin may treat Trump like an officer handling his agent. The U.S. president breaks Kyiv's resistance for him and is supposed to achieve a similar goal with Europeans, as in the case of military assistance, much depends on them – explains Busse.

Stefan Kornelius from "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" adds that the conversation between Trump and Putin did not yield concrete results, and the U.S. president became part of a game he might lose. Kornelius emphasises that Trump must understand that his notions of pace and doing business mean little in Putin's world.

Mareike Mueller from "Handelsblatt" assesses that the phone conversation between Trump and Putin did not bring a breakthrough and only compromised the U.S. president. Mueller notes that a 30-day pause in attacks on energy infrastructure is not equivalent to a comprehensive ceasefire. "Washington must now show that it can be tough on Russia," writes Mueller.

Stefan Schocher from Die Welt observes that Trump’s negotiations with Putin in Kyiv's absence evoke bad memories from Ukraine's past. What Trump describes as a "deal" is, in fact, a manifestation of the colonisation of Ukraine.

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Josef Wagner from "Bild" reminds us that after the Trump-Putin conversation, hundreds of drones were launched towards Ukraine. "Trump says the conversation was great. Perhaps hockey players will play against each other again. And people will continue to die," notes "Bild".

German media emphasise that the result of the Trump-Putin talks is the relativisation of Russia's blame for the war. Commentators point out that Russia's strategy is to wait until Trump loses interest in Ukraine, which could have serious consequences for Europe.