In a dramatic policy reversal, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday, July 14, a substantial military aid package for Ukraine and threatened sweeping secondary sanctions against Russia unless a ceasefire is reached within fifty days. The move marks a clear break with the strategy Trump has pursued since returning to the White House: relying on his personal rapport with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring about an end to the war — regardless of the cost to Ukrainians.
Flanked by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office — the same room where, just months earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suffered a humiliating diplomatic rebuke — Trump unveiled two key decisions. First, a significant delivery of arms to Kyiv, following the depletion of the final tranches of aid authorized by former President Joe Biden. Second, a threat to impose stiff customs tariffs on Russia’s trade partners should Moscow fail to commit to a ceasefire within fifty days.
To avoid appearing as a mere continuation of Biden’s military aid policy — and to placate the isolationist wing of his support base — Trump insisted the deal was a “very big deal” orchestrated with European allies. According to the president, NATO members will purchase billions of dollars’ worth of U.S.-made weapons which will then be routed to Ukraine. “These weapons are paid for 100 percent by our allies — not a single cent from the American taxpayer,” he emphasized.
Rutte clarified that the aid package is not limited to air defense systems and would allow European states to quickly transfer existing stockpiles to Ukraine, which will later be replenished by U.S. deliveries. “Speed is essential,” the NATO chief noted.
Trump Bows to Pressure
The shift follows months of bipartisan pressure in Washington. Senators Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, and Democrat Richard Blumenthal have been lobbying for robust sanctions against Russia. With direct trade between Washington and Moscow limited, Trump now threatens secondary sanctions — 100% tariffs — on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and gas.
“This isn’t about diplomacy anymore,” Trump admitted. “Talking doesn’t work.”
Frustrated by what he described as an unproductive phone call with Putin on July 3, Trump said he began reconsidering his approach during a working dinner with the Israeli prime minister just four days later. He acknowledged having been unaware that a pause in arms shipments to Kyiv had even been implemented. In a cabinet meeting the next day, he confided that “Putin has been feeding me a load of crap about Ukraine. He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden — but he didn’t fool me.” During the press conference in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on July 14, Trump declared “I don’t want to say [Putin is] an assassin, but he’s a tough guy” and then went on to repeat, as though rehearsing a new absolvitory mantra ” He fooled [all of my predecessors] but he didn’t fool me”. One can only muse that in case he would come to be proven wrong, President Trump will be in good company.
Trump offered a candid, almost confessional tone on his dealings with the Russian leader: “Every time I speak to him, I hang up thinking it was a good conversation. Then the next day, missiles rain down on Kyiv. After the third or fourth time, you start to think maybe words don’t matter.”
He recalled telling the First Lady after a call with Putin: “We had a great conversation,” only to hear her reply: “Really? Another city just got hit.” Trump added: “They’re not striking military targets. They’re trying to terrify the population. Entire cities are being leveled. It will take years to rebuild.”
Half Measures and Hesitations
While the policy shift is significant, it is far from a full pivot. Trump praised Ukrainian fighters for their courage but stopped short of directly blaming Putin for the war, and once again avoided calling him a “killer.” “This is not Trump’s war,” he insisted. “It’s Biden’s and others’. We’re just here to try to end it.”
Asked whether he would escalate the U.S. response if Putin launched a new offensive, Trump dodged. “Don’t ask me how far I’m willing to go. I want the war to end. That’s all.”
In a sign of continuity with his previous hesitations, Trump’s new sanctions plan remains less severe than what many lawmakers have demanded. Aides who had previously backed a freeze in intelligence sharing with Ukraine were present in the Oval Office. This includes Vice President J.D. Vance, a vocal opponent of U.S. military involvement in Ukraine, who remained notably silent on Monday.
Between February and early March, the Trump administration had quietly halted arms shipments and intelligence sharing. On March 7, Trump admitted he wouldn’t be able to meet his campaign promise of ending the war in 24 hours. At the time, he claimed to believe Putin wanted peace, saying, “I believe him. We’re doing just fine with Russia.”
That same month, the Justice Department withdrew from a multinational task force investigating Russian war crimes — another sign of Washington’s diminishing appetite for holding Moscow accountable. Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy to Russia, real estate mogul Steve Witkoff — a man with no diplomatic experience — made repeated solo visits to Moscow to meet with Putin, raising eyebrows in both Washington and Kyiv.
Zelensky’s Measured Praise
In Ukraine, where Russian drone and missile strikes now occur almost daily, Trump’s ultimatum has been met with cautious optimism and deep skepticism. Zelensky responded diplomatically, thanking Trump for “his concern for protecting civilian lives” in his nightly address on Telegram.
But online, where much of Ukraine’s wartime political discourse now unfolds, reactions were more sardonic. Many users viewed Trump’s fifty-day deadline as a “green light” for continued Russian bombardment. “That’s 50 bonus days of shelling for Putin,” quipped one commentator.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed this sentiment. While she welcomed the tougher stance, she warned: “Fifty days is a long time if civilians are dying every day.”
Ukrainians mocked what they see as Trump’s ever-extending timeline for peace. “Trump’s peace formula?” read one viral meme: “24 hours + 2 weeks + 100 days + 2 weeks + 2 weeks + 50 days…”
