America’s Ukraine policy, after President Donald Trump assumed power on January 20, upends traditional thinking on NATO, East-West relations, and Russia. Trump’s long telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even before engaging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rattled NATO allies. Since then, matters have veered from the dramatic to the bizarre.

President Trump began berating the Ukrainian leader by grossly mis-stating his popularity, calling him a dictator, distorting both the nature and extent of the US aid, and claiming it is $500 billion when it is $119 billion. He then sought recompense from Ukraine by claiming its mineral resources.

The US treasury secretary presented a minerals agreement to Kyiv seeking unquestioned sign-in. Zelenskyy refused, calling it indefinite enslavement of his nation. This further riled up Trump into wrongly calling Ukraine the war’s initiator. Then the US, unprecedentedly, voted against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's Ukraine invasion. P

resident Trump ignored that this critical repositioning was on the third anniversary of the Ukraine war. Abandoning NATO allies, the US stood with North Korea, Russia and Sudan. India and China chose to abstain, observing their traditional equidistance policy between Russia and the West.

Amongst the 32-member NATO, there was already concern about Trump’s isolationist Make America Great Again........

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