Vladimir Putin is playing with him! Donald Trump seems fully prepared to arm Ukraine to the teeth

Nearly six months after taking office, US President Donald Trump, who promised "wars we end" and "wars we never get into", has suddenly switched to a policy of containment of Russia. His team is preparing new arms supplies to Kiev and is also considering a new package of sanctions against the Kremlin. This is a signal of a changed strategy, writes The New York Times, quoted by Focus.

The meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House could be the first test of the new course. Trump is expected to formally announce the transfer of U.S. weapons to Kiev through allies in Europe.

"This is a welcome change in rhetoric," said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "It seems that at least in his recent comments he is finally realizing that Vladimir Putin is playing him. Whether that will continue for much longer is unclear."

The White House declined to comment. Press secretary Anne Kelly did not respond directly or whether Trump's position was now closer to Biden's course, noting only:

"Unlike Biden, President Trump is focused on stopping the killing, and thanks to his leadership, Russia and Ukraine are holding direct talks for the first time in many years."

From "you have no cards" to arms supplies

Recently, Trump blamed the Ukrainians themselves for the Russian invasion and, during a conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, shouted: "You have no cards". He also approved the abolition of tariffs on Russia, called Putin "strong" and assured that Ukraine would never join NATO.

Now the rhetoric is different. After Trump learned that the Pentagon had stopped some defense aid to Kiev, he personally ordered it to be resumed. This raised hopes in Washington that the president may have finally supported the West's strategic course of isolating Russia and strengthening Ukraine. But analysts warn: there is still no real change in strategy.

"Lifting the pause, while an important first step, only unlocks aid that was authorized during the Biden administration," said David Shimer, a former director for Eastern European policy at the National Security Council.

"Now is the time for the administration to go further and adopt a sustained strategy to increase military aid to Ukraine, increase economic pressure on Russia, and encourage Putin to begin meaningful negotiations to end this war."

Personal "dislike and disappointment" with Putin

Analysts suggest that the reason for Trump's change of course is not so much geopolitical as personal dissatisfaction. Trump previously admired the "toughness" Putin, but hoped for reciprocity.

Instead, the Russian leader refused to respond to Trump's attempts to influence the situation in Ukraine, which was considered a "personal insult" to the American president.

Trump has been known for his notorious relativism since 2017, when, in response to a question from Fox News journalist Bill O'Reilly, who called Putin a "murderer", he replied

"There are a lot of murderers... Do you think our country is that innocent?"

In 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale war, Trump did not call the invasion illegal. His vision of peace resembled a "real estate deal" - recognition of all occupied territories as Russian.

Furthermore, under his administration, efforts by the Justice Department and the State Department to document Russia's war crimes have been limited.

Whether Trump can actually change course is an open question. Shaheen warns:

"Vladimir Putin is playing with him".