In recent weeks, international media attention has been focused on Donald Trump's US policy, particularly with regard to Ukraine and potential peace talks. In the first 10 days of his presidency, Donald Trump signed a record number of executive orders and made a large number of high-profile statements. Trump and many key members of his administration have demonstrated a willingness to seriously increase economic pressure on moscow. Preparing to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump said he would continue to provide Kyiv with American weapons. "I want to get a deal done, and the only way to get a deal done is to support Ukraine."
In the Washington Post article, the authors note that the US President has promised to increase military support for Ukraine in order to force the russian leader to the negotiating table. However, regardless of what happens at the negotiating table, the United States will need to provide Ukraine with weapons for many years to come. This is the only way to ensure a just and lasting peace.
The authors argue that it is crucial to allow Ukraine to use frozen russian assets to buy American weapons. Using frozen russian assets to produce these weapons is a win-win solution: Ukraine gets the weapons, the United States gets the money, and russia bears the costs of putin's aggression. This is the only sustainable way to build long-term defence cooperation between Washington and Kyiv.
In another article from Foreign Policy, the author discusses how Trump can increase pressure on moscow. US and European sanctions are already unprecedented, but the new administration can still do much to cut into russia's profits.
The first and most obvious step the Trump administration can take is to ensure full compliance with the latest round of sanctions, including the identification of more than 180 tankers in russia's so-called shadow fleet, which it uses to circumvent Western sanctions aimed at limiting its oil revenues.
Continued strikes on refineries are a good complement to this strategy, as they target the very oil products that russia has been exporting since the recent tanker bans, which are more profitable than regular crude oil.
In addition, according to Reuters, this week the United States moved nearly 90 Patriot air defence systems from Israel to Poland to be delivered to Ukraine.
Bloomberg reports on a new SEK 13.5 billion (USD 1.2 billion) military aid package to Ukraine from Sweden, the largest aid the country has ever provided to Ukraine. The package will include almost SEK 5.9 billion worth of military equipment, which Sweden will procure on behalf of Ukraine; SEK 2.8 billion in financial assistance; and SEK 3.3 billion worth of ready-to-deliver military equipment.
Thus, the United States is committed to continuing to support Ukraine in its struggle for peace, as well as to increase economic pressure on moscow. The use of frozen russian assets to purchase weapons and toughening sanctions against russian economic interests are key elements of this strategy. At the same time, international support for Ukraine from Western partners strengthens our country's position. This demonstrates the importance of continuing defence cooperation and efforts to achieve a stable and just peace for Ukraine.
If Mr. Putin allows a cease-fire, some say, it will only be to rearm and restart the war. No, say others. Mr. Putin is 72. His war is a botch. His domestic allies, not to mention the Chinese, won’t tolerate another attempt.
Yet others say trying to read Mr. Putin is a fool’s errand. He’s so KGB, he conceals his true intentions even from himself. After all, the recommended Western policy remains the same in every case: Keep up the pressure until Mr. Putin decides his path has become untenable.
Kyiv is anticipating that an alternative source of funding for weapons and reconstruction will appeal to Trump as he seeks to cut foreign aid. The proposal has gained new urgency amid increased uncertainty over U.S. military support for the country.
Ukraine has long sought the outright confiscation of nearly $300 billion in Russian central bank assets, held mostly in Europe and frozen after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Trump’s return, with his focus on ending the conflict, has revived the conversation.
America must continue to arm Ukraine — without U.S. taxpayer dollarsу - без коштів американських платників податків
As he prepares to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump says he will continue to send U.S. weapons to Kyiv. “I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon” Ukraine, he told Time magazine in his Person of the Year interview in late November.
He is right. To secure a lasting peace, we must continue to arm Ukraine — but without asking U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill.
The time has come for a just and lasting peace, and Trump is right to seek an end to the fighting. He also understands who the intransigent party is. As he put it on his first day back in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “wants to make a deal. I don’t know if [Vladimir] Putin does. He might not. … I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia’s going to be in big trouble.”
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, January 24, warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wanted to "manipulate" Donald Trump, after the Kremlin chief praised the US leader and said he was ready for talks with him. Kyiv earlier warned against any Putin-Trump peace talks on the near three-year war without its and European participation.
"He wants to manipulate the desire of the President of the United States of America to achieve peace," Zelensky said during a daily evening address on social media. "I am confident that no Russian manipulations will succeed anymore."
The first and most obvious step that the Trump administration can take is to ensure full enforcement of the latest round of sanctions, including the designation of more than 180 of the tankers in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which it uses to circumvent Western efforts to cap its oil revenues. Those measures were meant to make the two-year-old Western “price cap” on Russian oil sales more effective by forcing more buyers to snap up crude at the maximum price of $60 a barrel, a discount to the $77 a barrel that benchmark crude trades at globally or even the $70 a barrel that Russian crude trades at.
Another way to make the price cap more effective even without lowering it—and one floated by some of the idea’s original architects—would be to use the power of U.S. secondary sanctions to punish buyers and facilitators of Russian oil who don’t abide by the price cap.
Germany's budget committee has called Finance Minister Joerg Kukies to approve an additional 3 billion euros ($3.13 billion) in military aid for Ukraine, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The request was approved in the budget committee of parliament with the votes of the opposition conservatives of the CDU and the Free Democrats (FDP), with the abstention of the governing Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, according to committee members.
The United States transferred some 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from Israel to Poland this week to then deliver them to Ukraine, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing three sources with knowledge of the operation.
"We have seen the reports but have nothing to provide at this time," a Pentagon spokesperson said in response to the report.
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed to Axios that a Patriot system had been returned to the U.S., adding "it is not known to us whether it was delivered to Ukraine."
Sweden presented a military aid package to Ukraine worth 13.5 billion Swedish kronor ($1.2 billion), the Nordic nation’s largest pledge to the war-torn country yet.
As part of the package, Ukraine will receive around 5.9 billion kronor in military equipment to be procured by Sweden on behalf of Ukraine; 2.8 billion kronor in financial aid; as well as military equipment ready for delivery worth around 3.3 billion kronor, the government said Thursday.
The rest of the aid package includes services and educational efforts worth around 1.3 billion kronor.
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