Russian leader Vladimir Putin's attempts to forge a new relationship with US President Donald Trump on the eve of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have raised concerns that the Kremlin is again trying to undermine Western support for Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports.

According to the publication, the timing of the presidents' conversation is clearly not coincidental - the call between Trump and Putin took place the day before Zelensky's visit to Washington, where he hopes to convince the US president to transfer long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

"V. Putin got scared because D. Trump promised to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, and decided to pretend that he was ready for a"deal" and compromise."

“We see a certain pattern here. Every time President Trump comes close to imposing serious sanctions on Russia or transferring advanced weapons to Ukraine, Putin tries to involve Trump in ‘negotiations,’” Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the president’s party, told the Kyiv Independent.

According to him, Putin's real goal is to create the impression of negotiations.

"V. Putin needs to create the illusion of negotiations. He is only interested in avoiding American sanctions and military aid to Ukraine," the expert added.

International experts also hold a similar opinion, notes the Kyiv Independent. John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), noted that similar situations have been repeated several times this year.

“In May, when there briefly seemed to be a transatlantic consensus on an ultimatum for Putin to accept a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions, Putin responded with a late-night address offering to resume talks in Istanbul,” Hardie said.

The negotiations ultimately led nowhere, and sanctions were not imposed.

Hardie recalled that when the resolve to punish Russia began to grow again, it was dispelled by the much-hyped Alaska summit between Trump and Putin in August.

According to him, now that the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine is being actively discussed, the Kremlin is again trying the same diplomatic tactic - a phone call and a plan to meet.