After weeks of pressuring, criticizing, and reproaching Ukraine's decisions. After insulting its leader, shouting at him, kicking him out of the White House, and cutting off all military and intelligence aid. And after weeks of maintaining that Vladimir Putin wants peace, is willing to it, and the problem is Volodymyr Zelensky, this Friday the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has raised his voice against Moscow for the first time, reproaching them for continuing to "pound" Ukraine on the battlefield and stating that he is "seriously considering the possibility of applying banking sanctions, sanctions, and tariffs on a large scale to Russia until a ceasefire and a DEFINITIVE PEACE AGREEMENT are reached."
In a message on his Truth Social account, just a pinch compared to what has happened on the other side, Trump has reacted for the first time, directly, against the actions of the Kremlin, as until now he repeatedly said that Ukraine was not ready for peace, despite the fact that the bombings have never stopped. However, hours later, in a chat with journalists, he significantly toned down his rhetoric, saying that despite everything, "frankly, I find it more difficult to deal with Ukraine (...) I think, in terms of reaching a final agreement, it may be easier to deal with Russia."
If that were not enough, when asked about how he saw Putin taking advantage of the interruption of American aid, and real-time information to defend himself, the President seemed to excuse the Russian. Saying that he should stop the attacks, but also that "truthfully, I think Putin is doing what anyone else would do. I think he wants the war to stop and be resolved. And I think he is attacking Ukraine more strongly than he has been doing before. And I think probably anyone in that position would be doing that right now."
His team, especially General Kellogg, special envoy for the conflict, have always maintained that the only way to achieve "peace through strength," which is how Trump defines his strategy, was to exert real pressure on both parties. The problem is that to date, only one side, the invaded, has been suffering.
Kellogg and the classic sector of the Republican Party had advocated for "escalating to de-escalate." That is, threatening Russia with giving Ukraine everything necessary to resist and even win the war unless it was willing to end the war. That has not happened and the only escalation has been with the former allies of the United States.
However, Trump has now warned the Kremlin that its attitude is not well seen. Putin's and his team's attitude towards Europe in recent days also exposes the American President, and he does not like that at all. The White House indicates that the discomfort is growing because just as they believe that Ukraine was taking advantage of American support, it now seems very clear that Moscow is doing the same.
In addition, the first polls show that a majority of Americans believe that Trump is not managing the war well, the same war he had assured would end in 24 hours after his electoral victory. They are not very negative numbers yet (and are much better than Biden's), but they are worse than the average of other indicators.
Recently, Trump said that Putin would have no problem with the idea of European soldiers acting as 'peacekeepers' in Ukraine after a peace agreement. Specifically, he said that he had asked Putin about this and the response had been positive. However, on the same Thursday, Russia, with veiled threats, said that a deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine is not acceptable in any scenario, exposing Trump's theories. "Russia and Ukraine must sit down at the negotiating table right now, before it's too late. Thank you!!!", he ended his message on social media.
A tweet is insignificant compared to the full-time campaign he and his team have maintained against Zelensky, but it is a first step. This Friday, Trump will go to spend the weekend at his Florida residence, as he does every week since taking office. While there, his activity is usually lower, but there are still opportunities for him to expand his message, as every day, no matter where, he speaks at length with journalists.
"If Russia does not stop its attacks on Ukraine, it will face economic and other restrictions. We support tougher sanctions against Moscow by the West and other measures. Attacks on Ukraine must cease immediately if Russia truly wants to end the war," said Zelensky's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
On Thursday, speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said that American negotiators had "made great progress with Ukraine and great progress with Russia in recent days." "I think what is going to happen is that Ukraine wants to reach an agreement because I don't think it has another option," he said. "I also think that Russia wants to reach an agreement because, in a different way - a different way that only I know, only I know - it has no other option," he mysteriously concluded.