US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements.

Vladimir Putin’s conduct has prompted Donald Trump’s shift as Russia’s war effort in Ukraine has gotten only more aggressive.

The change in Trump’s approach may also mean that the $US8 billion (£6 billion) of frozen Russian assets in the US (and US$223 billion in Europe) could be released to aid Ukraine, which would provide a ready means to pay for the US arms transfers.

To appreciate the dramatic shift in President Donald Trump’s policy towards Ukraine, consider two scenes in the Oval Office, months apart:

President Trump is applying pressure on Moscow by restoring weapons pipelines to Ukraine and imposing tariffs on Russia’s trading partners, in an effort to weaken Russia’s war economy

After European leaders stepped up military spending, President Trump aligned himself more closely with them on the war. But his tariff threats have left bruises.

Donald Trump’s remarks on Ukraine on Monday were far from the biggest announcement the US president could have made.

Roughly half of U.S. adults report that Trump’s policies have “done more to hurt” them since his second term began six months ago.

American fatigue with the war and the fickleness of the Trump administration remain concerns for Ukraine’s leaders.

Russia has said that it needs time to respond to US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peaceful truce with Ukraine, expressing his frustration with his Russian counterpart,