The main outcomes of the Davos Forum were the transfer of Greenland to U.S. control and the start of direct U.S.-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine. While Moscow had anticipated these developments, the Kremlin was caught off guard by Trump’s execution.
Trump secured from the EU, Denmark, and Greenland what he had demanded—and failed to obtain—during the first phase of his presidency. The U.S. now holds the right to establish military bases, develop and extract resources on Greenland’s territory, and manage its entire defence system across space, airspace, and surrounding oceans. And Trump did not pay a dollar for it.
In Greenland, the U.S. is already building a multi-trillion-dollar missile defence system designed to protect against air and space missile attacks from the North Atlantic, the Arctic, Eurasia, Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. In 2019, Trump withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, originally signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989. Now the U.S. will deploy medium-range hypersonic missiles (with a range of up to 7,000 km) in Greenland, putting the Arctic, Russia (less than 1,000 km to Russian islands, just over 3,500 km to mainland Russia), Europe, the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe (under 4,000 km to Poland), and even western Ukraine within striking distance.
Trump achieved this first by creating a fog of war—threatening to use force, make Greenland a U.S. state, or buy it by offering each Greenlander $100,000—and then by speaking in Davos and conjuring a fog of peace that thoroughly blinded Europe. Trump charmed European leaders with his peaceful rhetoric, outlining the benefits of an agreement on his terms. As a result, Greenland was effectively colonized by the U.S., to the alleged delight of Europeans, Danes, and Greenlanders alike—while Greenland’s indigenous population was confined to reservations, receiving not “a single bead, blanket, or penny” from the U.S. budget.
Then, at Davos, professional actor-turned-politician Zelenskyy took the stage, addressing world leaders with a masterful performance. He highlighted the divide between the U.S. and Europe, pointing to Europe’s weakness and unreliability as a partner in opposing Russia. Zelenskyy contrasted Trump’s resolute, power-based approach with European leaders’ indecisiveness, failure to fund Ukraine adequately, and lack of unity. Despite criticizing Putin and Russia, Zelenskyy expressed willingness to follow Trump’s peace plan “if Putin is ready.” In this way, Zelenskyy too cast a fog of peace over Davos.
After Davos, negotiations moved to Abu Dhabi, led largely by military representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia, with intelligence chiefs playing central roles. By then, the former head of Ukraine’s GUR, Budanov, had become head of the Presidential Office—Ukrainian media even calling him “vice president.” Moscow understood that Budanov would now help implement Trump’s plan alongside Zelenskyy.
In Abu Dhabi, trilateral talks were held alongside closed, direct meetings between Russian and Ukrainian military officials. Americans noted that conversations between the delegations, even at banquets, were relaxed and friendly. Major issues, including territorial disputes, appeared resolved. Fog of peace fell over Abu Dhabi—until Zelenskyy again stalled progress, using the Donbas issue as leverage. Ukraine launched massive drone strikes inside Russia, and talks were postponed until August 1.
It was then that Moscow noticed a pattern. Each time Trump advanced peace initiatives, each time Moscow and Washington negotiated and reached compromises—with Moscow making concessions—Zelenskyy would eventually object. And Trump did nothing to stop him.
Throughout 2025, the sticking point was most often the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, a key demand from Putin. Trump had agreed to this in Anchorage, yet following such agreements, Ukrainian forces—especially military intelligence—dramatically increased strikes on Russian energy facilities, oil refineries, and strategic sites, including the Russian presidential residence at Valdai, part of the nuclear command complex. Corporations from Trump’s circle, such as Palantir Technologies, played a key role in enabling these strikes. As Palantir CEO Alex Karp admitted at Davos, his company provided targeting for drones hitting sites inside Russia, including Putin’s residence.
At a Vatican meeting in April 2025, Trump and Zelenskyy reached agreements that stabilized their relationship. Zelenskyy began playing for Trump’s team, and a pattern emerged: Trump pushed for peace, Putin negotiated, compromises were drafted, but Putin’s Donbas demands met Zelenskyy’s resistance—and the fog of peace vanished. The West imposed new sanctions, seizing assets of Russian corporations, banks, and shadow fleet vessels. Russia escalated attacks on Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure. Then another round of Washington–Moscow talks would begin, and the fog of peace again raised hopes for a quick end to the war.
Over time, this cycle of “fog of war–fog of peace” led Moscow to accept as inevitable the loss of Russian state assets in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa; the seizure of shadow fleet ships; and U.S. postwar management of Ukraine’s economy. Moscow agreed to allow American corporations access to mineral extraction in Siberia, the Far East, and the Russian Arctic; to expand the U.S. presence in Central Asia and the Caucasus; to grant the U.S. control over a Caucasus transport corridor; and to permit frozen Russian assets to be used for rebuilding Gaza and Ukraine. Moscow also consented to American investment in the Black Sea coast and Crimea, to U.S. companies selling Russian oil and gas to Europe, and to transferring management of Russia–Europe pipelines to American transnational corporations.
At Davos, the Greenland episode led some Russian analysts to a stark realization: what happened to Europe, Denmark, and Greenland is now happening to Russia. The fog is lifting, and it is clear that the Americans have gained a great deal—while spending and paying nothing.
