President Trump stepped back from his demands for an immediate 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine following calls with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, instead suggesting Moscow and Kyiv should start negotiations over what broader peace talks might look like.

The president’s rhetoric since the calls indicates a shift that will be welcomed in the Kremlin, which has expressed an openness to peace talks but set maximalist terms that are impossible for Zelensky or his European partners to swallow.

Trump’s reported deference to Putin surprised European leaders who he briefed soon after, according to Axios. Trump has repeatedly threatened sanctions against Putin for continued devastating attacks on Ukraine, but has yet to follow through.

Even if he did, it is unlikely to change Putin’s calculations, said Mark Shrad, a Russia-Ukraine relations expert and political science professor at Villanova University.

“I'm kind of a pessimist when it comes to sanctions across the board, especially when it comes to Putin,” he said, noting that the United States and Europe have repeatedly drawn red lines and imposed new sanctions over Russia’s incursions into Ukraine, starting in 2014.

“And the Russian economy just keeps plodding along. And it hurts, yeah. But, you know, the Russians are used to pain. I don't think another round of sanctions is going to do anything that the previous umpteen rounds of sanctions haven’t done.”

Ukraine’s backers say the only solution is forcing Russia into a weaker position on the battlefield by arming Kyiv’s military.

Trump........

© The Hill