When Zelensky clearly stated at the White House that Putin does not want peace and the only way to stop him is to fight with all weapons against him, not to make concessions, he faced a wave of reproaches from Trump and American Vice President JD Vance. In the meantime, Trump has realized how difficult it is to negotiate with Putin and is adopting an aggressive approach towards the Kremlin leader, but has not yet taken a decisive step.
The ultimatum Trump gave Putin on Monday is not the most important announcement the US president could have made about the war in Ukraine.
The good news for Kyiv is that Trump has allowed other NATO members to purchase American weapons. Among these are the Patriot interceptor missiles, which Kyiv urgently needs, along with the batteries that use them. Trump even suggested that there are 17 „spare” missiles in a NATO country.
Regardless of what the arms package NATO will eventually offer contains, it is exactly what Ukraine needs, as noted by CNN.
Nighttime attacks with Russian ballistic missiles can only be stopped by American Patriot missiles, and only the White House can authorize their supply. Ukraine lacked such weapons, as well as other sophisticated American systems that may not have been mentioned and could be included in the agreement.
According to sources at the White House cited by The Washington Post, the American president even considered sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. These weapons, which have been used in attacks on Iran, could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg and are not yet on the delivery list, but could be included later if Trump wants to have even more influence in negotiations with Putin.
n the short term, these arms deliveries are of great help to Kyiv.
However, the pain for Ukraine comes from what was not announced: immediate secondary sanctions against customers buying Russian energy, which would significantly deplete Moscow’s coffers. The scope of the sanctions proposed by a US Senate bill – with a possible 500% level on all trade with those buying Russian hydrocarbons – would have been devastating.
These sanctions would affect China and India – the main rival and key ally of the US, respectively – at a time when oil prices are low but trade disruptions are high. The damage to energy markets would have been palpable, and the United States would also have been affected by likely higher oil prices. But this decision would have come anyway with a significant delay, along with the somewhat useless threat of sanctions against Russia, as there is almost no trade that can be penalized.
[Reportajul New York Times care a înfuriat Kievul: Ce a mai rămas acolo unde Ucraina a invadat Rusia](https://spotmedia.ro/stiri/eveniment/reportajul-new-york-times-care-a-infuriat-kievul-ce-a-mai-ramas-acolo-unde-ucraina-a-invadat-rusia)
Nighttime attacks with Russian ballistic missiles can be stopped only by American Patriot missiles, and only the White House can authorize their supply. Ukraine lacked such weapons, as well as other sophisticated American systems that may not have been mentioned and could be included in the agreement.
According to sources at the White House cited by The Washington Post, the American president even considered [sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine](https://spotmedia.ro/stiri/eveniment/ziua-1238-rusii-ataca-la-spitalul-de-psihiatrie-zeci-de-raniti-in-atacuri-cu-drone-in-rusia-trump-vrea-sa-trimita-tomahawk-in-ucraina-dar-nu-a-terminat-o-cu-putin). These weapons, which have been used in attacks on Iran, could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg and are not yet on the delivery list, but could be included later if Trump wants to have even more influence in negotiations with Putin.
In the short term, these arms deliveries are of great help to Kyiv.
However, the pain for Ukraine comes from what was not announced: immediate secondary sanctions against customers buying Russian energy, which would significantly deplete Moscow’s coffers. The scope of the sanctions proposed by a US Senate bill – with a possible 500% level on all trade with those buying Russian hydrocarbons – would have been devastating.
These sanctions would affect China and India – the main rival and key ally of the US, respectively – at a time when oil prices are low but trade disruptions are high. The damage to energy markets would have been palpable, and the United States would also have been affected by likely higher oil prices. But this decision would have come anyway with a significant delay, along with the somewhat useless threat of sanctions against Russia, as there is almost no trade that can be penalized.
[Ce urmează după ce Trump a întors armele împotriva lui Putin](https://spotmedia.ro/stiri/eveniment/ce-urmeaza-dupa-ce-trump-a-intors-armele-impotriva-lui-putin)
Trump offers Putin a 50-day deadline, and by September, Trump also has time to change his mind. It is also possible that the reality on the front lines will become favorable to Putin and he will be willing to seek a freeze in the conflict.
The deadline also shows that Trump has not yet given up on the most complicated point of his policy towards Ukraine: that the Kremlin actually wants peace and has not been adequately convinced to achieve it. Trump has once again proposed a deadline to push Russia to reach an agreement. We have seen this before, and Putin has not changed his position, notes the American television station.
However, it is important to note Trump’s change in tone.
The US president has wildly oscillated through Putin’s calendar – his spring of hope when peace was possible, a brief summer of diplomacy in the Gulf and Istanbul, a collapse of relations, and now, finally, the same winter of discontent that was, in fact, the position of President Joe Biden. However, after six months, during which Russian diplomacy, by its synthetic nature, combined with cynical, maximalist demands, flexed its muscles, Trump has not yet given up on persuading the Kremlin to voluntarily stop the existential war it has unleashed.
Trump has also avoided some of the more difficult options available to him. No new sum of American money will be sent to Ukraine, and nothing has been heard publicly about the delivery of new capabilities.
Perhaps Trump’s policy towards Ukraine has changed in terms of attitude, but it retains key elements from the past: the desire for anyone other than the US to foot the bill; deadlines for action rather than immediate consequences for inaction; and a bewildering conviction that Moscow wants peace.
Kyiv will be satisfied in the short term, but soon it may also have a familiar sense of disappointment, concludes the American TV station.
T.D.