The Unwinnable Trap: How Putin and Trump Are Stuck in Wars They Can't End.

When CIA Director John Ratcliffe flew into Moscow this week, his Russian hosts likely appreciated the bitter irony. He came bearing a message they already knew: Russia is losing its war in Ukraine. But as Russian spy chiefs might have pointed out, their American counterpart is facing nearly the same problem—President Donald Trump is stuck in a losing war in Iran that he can't walk away from without losing face.

Two leaders. Two different battlefields. One agonizingly similar predicament.

Trump and Putin both launched military campaigns after apparently underestimating their opponents. Neither anticipated how Ukraine and Iran would use cheap new technologies like drones to neutralize America and Russia's massive conventional military advantages. What should have been quick victories have become grinding stalemates.

And here's the really troubling part: according to the New York Times report on Ratcliffe's visit, there's growing concern that Putin isn't getting honest assessments of how badly the war is going. But many observers wonder the same thing about Trump—is his inner circle telling him what he wants to hear rather than the truth about Iran?

The parallels are striking but imperfect. Trump hasn't made Putin's catastrophic mistake of pouring ground troops into a meat grinder—a decision that's left over 1.4 million Russians dead, injured, or missing, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And while Putin deliberately targets Ukrainian cities and power plants, Trump has mostly avoided hitting civilians, though he's yet to fully explain a missile strike that killed nearly 200 people at an Iranian school in February.

Ratcliffe's surprise visit came at a tense moment in international relations. He reportedly warned Russia against attacking NATO territory and urged them to cut off support for Iran—a message that might reassure anxious European allies who've worried about Trump's commitment to the alliance.

But here's the catch: Russia has little incentive to help Trump in Iran, especially since the president has failed to pressure Ukraine into territorial concessions. In fact, CNN reported in March that Russia has been sharing satellite intelligence with Iran about American troop movements.

Trump once boasted he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. That hasn't happened. And with his term ending in two-and-a-half years, Putin is likely playing a longer game.

As one expert put it, Trump is going to have a "real hard time" getting Russia and China to cooperate with his economic isolation of Iran. The Washington Post reported that fresh US intelligence suggests the Kremlin sees America as weakened by the Iran war—which only makes sense, given how the conflict has depleted munitions and strained US forces.

Trump insists his friendly relationship with Putin makes the world safer. The Russian leader "is not going to be attacking a NATO territory," he told CNN.

But as the intrigue around Ratcliffe's Moscow trip reveals, two strongmen who started wars they can't win now find themselves in the same trap. For Putin, Ukraine may be existential. For Trump, Iran may not be—but like his friend in the Kremlin, he's cornered by his own war.