Ukraine: Trump's mixed messages

Trump wants to broker an end to the war, but his pal Putin won't stop trying to conquer all of Ukraine until he "realizes that his goals are unachievable."

(Image credit: Reuters)

By The Week US

published 14 July 2025

As Russia ramps up its savage air attacks on Ukrainian civilians, President Trump is sending "confusing messages" about what side he's on, said Fred Kaplan in Slate. This week, Trump announced that the U.S. would deliver 10 Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine, out of the 30 the U.S. originally promised. This reverses last week's order from the Pentagon canceling all Patriot shipments to Ukraine, out of concern that the U.S.'s own munitions stockpile was running low. "They have to be able to defend themselves," Trump declared. "They're getting hit very hard." The turnaround came after the president said he was "disappointed" by his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who again refused a cease-fire. After Putin then launched a massive missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Trump had what he called his "best conversation" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and decided to send him some Patriots. Trump wants to broker an end to the war, but his pal Putin won't stop trying to conquer all of Ukraine until he "realizes that his goals are unachievable."

The U.S. really does have a shortage of Patriot missiles, said Hugo Lowell in The Guardian. The Pentagon recently determined that the U.S. has only about "25% of the missile interceptors" it needs for possible future military operations. In fact, the supply of many crucial weapons has been dwindling for years, as a result of arms shipments to Ukraine and to Israel for its conflicts with the Houthis and Iran. But withholding Patriots and other arms will only "embolden Putin to double down," said Zeeshan Aleem in MSNBC.com. He has every incentive to keep up the relentless attack, believing Trump will eventually "throw up his hands entirely and abandon Ukraine."

Trump's decision to deliver the Patriots "is a victory for common sense," said The Economist in an editorial. But it doesn't mean Trump is now on Ukraine's side. Indeed, he "has not made any new commitments of weapons since his return to office," and the flow of weapons President Biden and Congress had authorized is tailing off to a slow trickle. Trump "is beginning to realize he is being played by the Russian president," but won't "spend more money on helping Ukraine win." His indecision leaves the war in a bloody status quo, with no end to the killing in sight.