Trump’s ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ Plea Sparks Avalanche of Jokes, Memes

An avalanche of jokes and memes have flooded the internet after President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop attacking Ukraine, writing “Vladimir, STOP,”—a rare public rebuke of the Kremlin from the U.S. president.

Why It Matters

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said that he would be able to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now a few months into his second term as president, peace talks between the two countries are looking precarious.

What To Know

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he is “not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” after another set of deadly strikes rocked the Ukrainian capital.

Russia struck Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. At least 12 people were killed and 90 were injured in the deadliest assault on the city since July 2024.

He continued to urge Putin to secure a peace deal and wrote “Vladimir, STOP!” something which has quickly been turned into a meme on social media.

One social media user wrote “To end the war, text STOP to VLADIMIR”, mimicking the tone of texts that urge people to donate to charity or opt out of text message chains. This post has been viewed over 600,000 times as of time of writing

Multiple other posts compared the tone of ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ to the way the actress Parker Posey says ‘Piper, NO!’ on the popular show The White Lotus.

Another video, viewed 50,000 times on X showed someone squirting a water gun at a wildfire, and was captioned “VLADIMIR, STOP!”

Other social media users have shared clips from TV shows and films, including Ben Stiller smiling in Zoolander, and Reese Witherspoon and David Schwimmer playfighting in Friends.

Another post, viewed nearly 200,000 times on X clipped a performance from a Michael Jackson concert where Jackson lowers a gun pointed at him in a staged interaction between him and a dancer.

Trump has often been critical of the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. In February, Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in a now infamous meeting, saying he lacked gratitude for U.S. aid.

The Trump administration has recently proposed to recognize Crimea as Russian under a peace deal to end Moscow’s war. But Zelensky said Kyiv will not accept any peace proposal that recognizes Crimea as Russian despite Trump’s threats to walk away from peace processes.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Thursday: “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!…Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”

Trump also told reporters on Wednesday: “I think we have a deal with Russia…I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky.”

Amid media reports about the U.S. proposal, Zelensky firmly rejected the notion of ceding any territory, saying Tuesday, “There is nothing to talk about—it is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people.”

What’s Next

Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting with Putin again for talks on Friday.