US President Donald Trump’s increasingly favorable approach toward Ukraine is more than a diplomatic change in tone. It reflects a growing recognition in Washington that a Russian victory is far from inevitable, former senior US diplomat Daniel Fried told Kyiv Post. Fried, a former US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, described Tuesday’s meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington as a significant improvement over their explosive White House encounter on Feb. 28, 2025.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. This time, he noted, the discussion appeared serious and focused on practical cooperation. Senate vote shows bipartisan support remains strong Fried also pointed to Zelensky’s meeting with US senators, which preceded an overwhelming 86–12 procedural vote advancing legislation aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia. The measure, originally championed by the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham alongside Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, would expand sanctions and give Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that remain major consumers of Russian energy. Fried suggested that Zelensky’s direct engagement with lawmakers helped secure additional support for the legislation. “That meeting with the senators was helpful in changing a number of votes from no to yes,” he said. For Fried, the vote also offered a broader indication of where Congress stands on Ukraine ahead of November’s midterm elections.