President Donald Trump’s tone on Ukraine has softened dramatically in recent weeks, from tough talk aimed to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin last month to a more hands-off approach.
After signaling strong support for Ukraine and pledging to bring an end to Russia’s invasion, Trump now appears far less committed to aiding Kyiv or forcing a resolution to the war.
The reversal began quietly two weeks ago when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington. Many had expected Trump to approve Tomahawk long-range missiles for Ukraine — but he didn’t.
The president said it would take too long to train on the missile system and that the U.S. needed them for its own stockpile. He vociferously denied a Wall Street Journal report suggesting the U.S. had lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to fire into Russia.
Then came Thursday’s announcement from the Department of War that a rotational U.S. Army brigade stationed in Romania, with forces also in Hungary and Bulgaria, would be coming home. Trump dismissed the pullback as ‘not very significant, not a big deal,’ though European allies saw it differently.
‘This will be an invitation for Russia to increase their attacks on Ukraine, increase its influence in the region,’ one European official told Fox News Digital.
The softer posture extended to Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Despite previously pressing India to curb its purchases of Russian oil, Trump made no such demand of Xi.
‘We really didn’t discuss the oil,’ he told reporters afterward.
Ending the war did come up, but in a noticeably less urgent tone.
‘We’re both going to work together to see if we can get something done,’ Trump said. ‘We agree that the sides are locked in, fighting, and sometimes you have to let them fight, I guess. Crazy. But he’s going to help us and we’re going to work together on Ukraine.’
For a president who vowed to ‘end the war on Day One,’ those comments suggest a shift from urgency to resignation — and a foreign policy that appears increasingly reactive rather than strategic.
Not everyone is alarmed by the change. Last week, Trump sanctioned two major Russian oil companies — Lukoil and Rosneft — in what supporters of Ukraine hope will deal a significant blow to Moscow’s war coffers. Both companies have since announced plans to sell international assets in response.
‘The sanctions are a step of actual consequence. European troop withdrawals are expected, but the changes seem marginal,’ another European official said. ‘The rest is your typical Trump pendulum — swinging away, this way one day, that way the next.’
At the same time, Trump announced the U.S. would resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time since 1992, blaming ‘other countries’ testing programs.’
Russia claims it recently tested a nuclear-powered drone along with a nuclear-capable missile and submarine, but the tests did not involve a detonation. Russia has not confirmed a nuclear weapon test since 1990.
Weeks ago, Trump suggested European nations dealing with Russian drone and jet incursions into their airspace should ‘shoot them down,’ and administration officials vowed to defend ‘every inch’ of NATO.
He’d planned to meet with Putin in Hungary this month, but canceled the meeting after deciding he didn’t want to ‘waste time.’
‘Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don’t go anywhere,’ Trump complained last week. ‘They just don’t go anywhere.’
Meanwhile, Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with 705 missiles and drones overnight on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukraine repelled many of the projectiles, but four people were killed.
Even as Trump insists his administration is pursuing peace ‘through strength,’ his latest actions and rhetoric paint a more complicated picture — one that has left allies guessing which version of Trump’s Ukraine policy will prevail next.