Putin faces Russian revolt over Trump friendship - 'grandpa's losing it'

Vladimir Putin's pro-war allies seem to be turning against the Russian president, accusing him of getting too close to Donald Trump.

There is growing anger in Russia over Putin's widely publicised plan to attract US investment for rare earth metals and aluminium, with critics claiming he is giving away valuable Russian resources.

The plan involves seeking post-war business deals with America in areas of Ukraine now under Kremlin control, and elsewhere.

This comes as a deal on rare metals is expected to be signed by Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, which Trump has presented as a return favour for US military aid in the three-year war.

However, supporters of Putin's war, who viewed it partly as a fight against the US and West, are furious about the sudden shift towards deals with Trump.

They had hoped and anticipated that Russia would erase Ukraine from the map and fully annex its lands.

The ties between the US and Russia strengthened as diplomats from both sides met on Thursday in Istanbul to discuss restoring embassy staffing levels in both countries, which had significantly decreased during the war.

"Grandpa's losing it", raged one war enthusiast on the Telegram channel Alex Parker Returns, using a common nickname for the 72-year-old Russian president.

Another critic is Artem Zhoga, a Donbas fighter turned politician chosen to endorse Putin's successful bid ahead of the 2024 presidential election in Russia.

Zhoga, now Putin's official envoy to the Ural Federal District, has made a rare critique of the Russian leader. He said: "These resources are part of our strategic reserves ... [We must] focus on preserving them in the interests of the state".

Political strategist Modest Kolerov, typically a staunch supporter, slammed the draft US agreement, claiming it shows Russia is "not sovereign enough, not strong enough, and not thinking clearly".

Radio Sputnik host Mitya Olshansky expressed his confusion over "the sudden amnesia regarding everything that was said just yesterday when the fight against America was in full swing".

Ukrainian commentator Denis Kazansky also highlighted the irony faced by Russian supporters: "For three years, Russian fools were told that they were fighting and dying so that Ukraine and its resources would not go to the damned West.

"In the fourth year of the war, it turned out that they were dying so that the resources of the captured territories would be given to Trump."