"In this edition, we delve into the deeper spiritual and political deception behind Putin’s global strategy. Speaking at the Civic and Moral Clarity Forum, we challenge the dangerous naiveté of placing trust in a man shaped by Stalinist ideology and KGB doctrine.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…”    - Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)

At a time when the world groans under the weight of unchecked aggression and spiritual darkness, it is nothing short of a moral outrage to witness U.S. President Donald Trump openly entertain trust in Vladimir Putin, a man whose reign is stained with blood, deception, and spiritual emptiness. What we are witnessing is not merely political naiveté, but a dangerous misalignment with divine truth and historical clarity.

The recent Russian missile strike on Kyiv deliberately targeting a building used by U.S. aerospace and defense giant Boeing is not merely a military tactic, it is an affront against the soul of justice, a direct attack against Western economic integrity, and a revealing glimpse into the malign spirit that governs the Kremlin’s war machine. That Trump can receive a warm birthday call from Putin amid such horrors and still praise the man speaks volumes about the moral and political dislocation gripping parts of the American conservative movement.

The KGB and the Cult of Deception: Understanding Putin's Training

Putin is not merely a politician. He is a product, a manufactured agent of an ideology that once consumed half the globe in fear. His roots are deep in the KGB, the intelligence arm of the Soviet Union; a regime that institutionalized mass surveillance, propaganda, and psychological warfare. Trained under the shadow of Stalinism and later the deceptive pragmatism of Yuri Andropov and Leonid Brezhnev, Putin absorbed the philosophy that truth is malleable, power is sacred, and violence is a justified tool of governance.

In the Soviet tradition, the goal was never peace, but “maskirovka”; the art of deception. The same strategy used to confuse NATO during the Cold War is now deployed on a global stage to blind Western democracies.

Donald Trump's repeated deference to Putin, despite all empirical, legal, and moral indicators of evil, places him on the wrong side of history, and dangerously close to spiritual complicity.

Divine Justice: There Is No Peace Without Righteousness

“When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.” -  Ecclesiastes 8:11

What we see unfolding in Ukraine is not just a war between nations—it is a cosmic battle between the forces of light and darkness, justice and oppression, righteousness and evil. Russia’s deliberate strike on an American company like Boeing in Ukraine is an attack on the very soul of peaceful commerce. It is a violation of divine order.

The Bible is clear: any political leader who aligns themselves with violent men has rejected wisdom. Proverbs 29:24 warns, “The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy; he is put under oath and dare not testify.” Trump’s refusal to condemn Putin’s war crimes and embrace him instead as a negotiating partner is a betrayal of the American moral legacy rooted in justice and truth.

Legal and Political Insight: Violating the International Order

Under international law, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its targeting of civilian infrastructure, including corporate partners of U.S. defense systems, is a violation of:

• The Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on civilian objects.
• The UN Charter, Article 2(4), which forbids the use of force against the territorial integrity of any state.
• The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which defines war crimes, including the intentional targeting of civilian structures.

Yet, despite these clear violations, Trump continues to engage in political fellowship with Putin, as if genocide and friendship could coexist.

The Philosophical Failure: Realism Without Morality Is Nihilism

It is tempting for some to argue, through the lens of political realism, that engagement with adversaries like Putin is a necessary evil for geopolitical stability. But realism untethered from moral clarity becomes moral relativism, and that is the highway to nihilism.

In Plato’s Republic, Socrates reminds us that justice in the state is rooted in the justice of the soul. If the state, or its leader, becomes enamored with lies, violence, and power for its own sake, the entire moral order collapses. Trump’s posture toward Putin threatens to erode this moral foundation not only for the U.S., but for any hope of an ethical international system.

The West Must Wake Up: Evil Is Winning While the UN Sleeps

The fact that Putin’s Russia remains a permanent member of the UN Security Council, while using that very status to veto global condemnation is proof that the global architecture of peace is structurally corrupted. The United Nations, conceived in the ashes of World War II to prevent another Holocaust, is now a platform hijacked by those who murder and maim with impunity. Meanwhile, President Trump fawns over the man who authorizes such evil, creating confusion among millions who still follow him. This is not statesmanship. It is spiritual blindness.

The Final Verdict: God Will Not Be Mocked

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”  Galatians 6:7

To every leader who praises Putin, shakes his hand, or legitimizes his regime in the name of pragmatism: beware. There is a higher throne than the presidency, a greater court than the United Nations, and a deeper justice than any human tribunal can deliver. God does not forget the blood of the innocent.

The targeting of Boeing in Kyiv, the murder of civilians, and the war against Ukraine are etched into the scrolls of heaven. Any man who calls such a tyrant “a friend” will one day answer—not only to history but to eternity.

Conclusion: Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

The time has come for the West; and especially for those in the United States—to draw a clear line between political flattery and moral fidelity. The soul of democracy cannot be preserved by aligning with the agents of death. The illusion of peace with Putin is not peace, it is a pact with darkness.

Let us pray that America remembers who she is. That the Church lifts its prophetic voice. That divine justice prevails over political gamesmanship. And that leaders who honor truth rise to replace those who bend the knee to the prince of lies.

“Justice and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live.” -  Deuteronomy 16:20

Edward-t Moises