➤ President Donald Trump has shocked many by appearing to back away from the strong support the US and its allies have given Ukraine since it was attacked by Russia in 2022. Instead, Mr. Trump now seems to be interested in working with Russia, and its president, Vladimir Putin.
US President Donald Trump has shocked much of the world by appearing to back away from the strong support that the US and its allies have given to Ukraine since it was attacked by Russia in 2022. Instead, Mr. Trump and his government now seem to be interested in working with Russia, and its president, Vladimir Putin.
In February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. The war has been dragging on since then. The US, most of Europe, and other countries around the world have worked hard to support Ukraine. The US has given Ukraine over $66 billion in weapons and other aid. Europe has given even more.
(Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
In an effort to force Russia to end the war, many countries worldwide got together to put pressure on Russia through sanctions. Leaders of Western countries worked to isolate Mr. Putin.
The sanctions have not yet forced Russia to end the war. But they have made life very difficult in the country, and Russia is feeling the pressure of the sanctions.
When Donald Trump was running for president, he claimed he would end the war in 24 hours. That didn’t happen right away, and many people were wondering what Mr. Trump was thinking about the situation.
On February 12, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth surprised many by saying that it wasn’t likely that Ukraine would ever become part of NATO. He also suggested that Ukraine would have to give up part of its territory in order to reach a peace deal with Russia.
That same day, Mr. Trump alarmed many people by reporting that he had had a long phone call with Mr. Putin. This went against the world’s attempt to isolate Mr. Putin. Mr. Trump said he planned to meet Mr. Putin “very soon”. By talking with Mr. Putin as equals, Mr. Trump gave the Russian leader a more powerful position on the world’s stage.
Also on February 12, the US asked Ukraine for half of its valuable “rare earth” minerals in return for US support. Rare earth minerals are needed for electronics. Mr. Trump said he wanted to get $500 billion from Ukraine. Ukraine turned the deal down.
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On February 18, top US diplomats, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met in Saudi Arabia with top diplomats from Russia (above). The US said the goal was to improve relations between the two countries and to talk about how to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine was not invited to the meeting.
On February 18, top US diplomats, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met in Saudi Arabia with top diplomats from Russia. The US said the goal was to improve relations between the two countries and to talk about how to end the war in Ukraine. Ukraine was not invited to the meeting. US allies in Europe were also not invited.
On February 19, Mr. Trump falsely suggested that Ukraine had started the war. Mr. Zelensky responded, “I would like to have more truth with the Trump team.” Mr. Trump followed up by insulting Mr. Zelensky on social media, and calling him a “dictator“.
The change in US attitude about the war in Ukraine has greatly upset European countries, and triggered concern worldwide. Many people worry that Mr. Trump will make a deal that is good for Russia and bad for Ukraine. If that happens, Mr. Putin is likely to come out of the deal stronger than ever.