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Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

After a rocky 2025, top U.S. officials appear increasingly enthusiastic about Ukraine, potentially paving the way for stronger support—but a past littered with abrupt shifts in U.S. policy suggests that the White House may yet need convincing to turn words into action.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long been sour on Ukraine, telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he didn’t “have the cards” in a dramatic February 2025 meeting that preceded a brief cutoff of U.S. aid to Ukraine. In a draft for a G-7 statement commemorating the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion that month, the United States reportedly sought to remove references to Russia as being the “aggressor” state.

After a rocky 2025, top U.S. officials appear increasingly enthusiastic about Ukraine, potentially paving the way for stronger support—but a past littered with abrupt shifts in U.S. policy suggests that the White House may yet need convincing to turn words into action.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long been sour on Ukraine, telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he didn’t “have the cards” in a dramatic February 2025 meeting that preceded a brief cutoff of U.S. aid to Ukraine. In a draft for a G-7 statement commemorating the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion that month, the United States reportedly sought to remove references to Russia as being the “aggressor” state.

“Sometimes, when I speak to [U.S.] officials, they see Ukraine as a state that would not be able to survive a day or two without international support,” a foreign official working on........

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