As President Donald Trump takes a victory lap for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, his attention may now turn back toward ending the war in Ukraine. During a contentious United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump made what seemed like a startling reversal on Ukraine policy. In a post on Truth Social following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump incredibly asserted that Ukraine could now win back all its territory and perhaps even take some territory from Russia.
Some interpreted the remarks as a sign that Trump, having reached a diplomatic dead end with Moscow, is now preparing to take a harder line in order to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal. The Trump administration has indicated it is considering Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles that could strike deep into Russian territory, which Moscow would undoubtedly see as a significant escalation. Trump also told reporters during his meeting with Zelenskyy that European members of NATO should shoot down Russian aircraft entering their airspace, a response to recent Russian incursions. All this would appear to be evidence that Trump is adopting a more intransigent stance toward Russia.
However, it is more likely that Trump’s statements signify the opposite. Given Trump’s inability to make good on his bold promises to quickly end the Ukraine war, the administration is finding its own face-saving way of shifting the burden of the war over to Europe.
In his social media post, Trump said, “We will continue to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them,” indicating that by “NATO,” he really means “Europe.” This may be a shift from what has otherwise been a continuation of then-President Joe Biden’s policy, in which the U.S. has not only armed and provided intelligence to Ukraine, but also has been deeply involved in its war planning. This might mean the U.S. will relegate its role to selling weapons to the Europeans, who can in turn provide them to Ukraine, but it would still represent a significant change in the U.S. role in the war.
Author
More on Eurasia
Events on Ukraine-Russia
