As Ukraine and its allies absorbed the surprise from U.S President Donald Trump’s newly upbeat view of Kyiv’s prospects in its war against Russia’s invasion, there were signs of a familiar move — his upping the pressure not on Russia but on Europe.
Trump’s social media post Tuesday reversed his past claims that Ukraine had "no cards to play” in the fight. But he didn’t offer any new U.S. steps to support Kyiv, leaving that up to allies in Europe. The post made no mention of new moves to tighten sanctions on Russia, either.
In public, Ukrainian and European officials hailed Trump’s verbal shift, which followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Privately, they were more cautious, sensing he was pushing the responsibility for ending the war to them. Though Trump seemed to set a baseline for U.S. support — easing allied fears of a cutoff of vital military aid — officials also warned that Trump’s view may change again.
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