LONDON/BERLIN/BRUSSELS: Donald Trump’s comments backing Kyiv to regain all of its territory from Russia have sparked a mixture of relief and suspicion that the US president is ready to leave Europe more to its own devices in supporting Ukraine.
Trump’s remarks on Truth Social marked an abrupt and major rhetorical shift for the US leader who had previously nudged Ukraine to give up territory to end the war and rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska only last month.
But it was not immediately clear whether he would back up his words with a shift in US policy, an ambiguity that could keep the onus on Europe to meet more of Ukraine’s needs through weapons and financing as Washington’s role recedes.
“I think people are taking heart because it does suggest... that his understanding of the conflict has shifted,” Neil Melvin, Director, International Security at RUSI, told Reuters about Trump’s comments.
“He has acknowledged that the conflict is more complicated, and he’s clearly frustrated with Putin, so that I think it is perhaps a success for Ukrainian and European diplomacy that that explanation has got through.”
