Politico recognized Putin and Trump as one of the most influential leaders in Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin and American leader Donald Trump have entered the top 5 ranking of the most influential leaders in Europe according to the newspaper Politico. The full list was published on December 9 on the publication's website.

The newspaper positions the rating as a list of people who "determined Europe's policy and strategy for the next year." There are a total of 28 positions in the list. Trump topped this rating, while Putin was ranked fifth by the Politico editorial board.

Describing the Russian president, the newspaper writes that Putin's actions "make Europeans shudder," forcing them to reconsider their policies. According to Politico, the Russian leader made it clear that "he is the only person whom no one on the continent can ignore."

Describing Trump's influence on Europe, the newspaper called him an "unpredictable and dominant partner" whose actions "could turn the continent upside down overnight."

"One reality has become inevitable: this year, no one has had a greater impact on Europe <...> than the president of the United States," writes Politico.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen took the second place in the list, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz took the third, and Marine Le Pen, leader of the French right-wing National Unification party, took the fourth.Газета.Ru ".

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, was in seventh position, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in eighth. Rounding out the top ten are Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky took only the 14th place, and French leader Emmanuel Macron — only the 19th.

"The world is much more complicated to follow the pressure from Washington"

Alexander Shchetinin, Director of the Latin American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, talks about US sanctions, the expansion of BRICS and the launch of new flights

Earlier in the day, The Indian Express reported that Putin's visit to India was a significant event that caused concern in some Western countries. They also added that the Russian president's trip will be a historic moment, symbolizing the end of the era of the unipolar world.

Prior to that, on June 21, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responding to a question from Izvestia on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025), noted that the world is experiencing the development of multipolarity. According to her, Russia and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are active players on the world stage.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.