Mr Bondarev said that if Mr Trump made concessions to Putin, the US president would admit that Americans had lost and were always wrong.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump continued Washington’s easing of tensions with Moscow, with the US president saying he would “love” to see Russia back in the G7 group of nations.
The concerns were sparked on Tuesday when Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, told Nato allies that Ukraine could forget about reclaiming territory lost to Russia since 2014 and that Nato membership was off the table in the talks.
“But I challenge anyone else to think of a world leader at this moment who, with credibility and strength, could bring those two leaders to the table and forge a durable peace that ultimately serves the interests of Ukraine, stops the killing and the death,” he told a news conference after a meeting of Nato defence ministers on Thursday.
His comments were echoed by Sebastian Lecornu, who mocked Mr Trump’s “peace through strength” motto by suggesting the US president was instead pursuing “peace through weakness”.
