Just yesterday, Trump questioned whether Putin really wanted to end the war — and now, during a U.S. government meeting, he’s calling the Russian leader someone who constantly spews nonsense.What happened? Why was Trump, who ignored being mocked by Putin over five calls and got nothing he asked for, suddenly fuming before our eyes? And this is just the start.Because Putin messed up in his usual style.Right before their sixth call, Trump made a big concession to Putin: he stopped sending weapons to Ukraine. Earlier, some Russian financial institutions were let off the sanctions list. Formally, it was tied to Syria. But in reality, it sent a clear message.Putin should’ve played along. He could’ve declared a short ceasefire for 48 hours or a week, he could’ve said he’s ready for talks in Istanbul anytime or hinted at new proposals on top of his memorandum.Instead, for reasons unknown, Putin decided Trump was already in his pocket and no more pretending is necessary. He either didn’t notice Trump getting annoyed during the last two calls. Or he figured Trump’s irritation didn’t matter if he kept giving in. And he miscalculated.But the most striking moment came later. Putin ignored both Trump’s growing frustration and the silence from the White House after their call. Instead, he launched a massive demonstrative attack on Ukraine, as if to brag: now I can do whatever I want.The fact that this attack began right after their call — clearly planned in advance just for the end of this telephone conversation — became Trump’s main irritant. A bad call he could’ve shrugged off. But airstrikes right after felt like a demonstrative, personal disrespect. Especially since Trump had been asking Putin to stop bombing peaceful cities.Doing it right after their call was personal disrespect. And for Trump, personal disrespect is the main issue. It’s not politics anymore, it’s subconsciousness.And Putin succeeded. He wiped out months of courtship, flattery, portraits as gifts, and all this jazz. Now Trump says Putin is "very polite," but this doesn't make any sense.Moreover, you can’t even explain to Putin where he went wrong, he just did what he always does. In fact, he did what any “proper” Russian tends to do: when someone’s nice and makes concessions, punch them in the teeth: so the client knows how to behave.So Putin is unlikely to fix anything. He’ll convince himself Trump was useful while he lasted, and now it’s time to get back to confrontation. But here’s where he might fail. When Putin clashed with Biden, he faced a typical politician who calculated every move.That won’t work with Trump. Putin will now be dealing with an offended child who will defend his dignity and prove that he cannot be trampled on. Because this child is the president of the United States.If Putin doesn’t wake up soon and offer Trump something that will demonstrate that he respects him and has understood that Trump’s wishes should be listened to — say, a ceasefire on the Russian-Ukrainian front — I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. And we’d better make use of the window of opportunity Putin just jumped out of.SourceAbout the author. Vitaliy Portnykov, journalist, Shevchenko National Prize laureateThe editorial staff does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.