--- title: Trump's New Hard Line on Putin is Softer Than it Looks description: Ukraine got weapons, but Russia dodged a bullet canonical: https://time.com/7302282/trumps-putin-ukraine-war-standoff-peace-plan-patriot-weapons/ author: Simon Shuster article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-15T10:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:08:55.842Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump's New Hard Line on Putin is Softer Than it Looks og:description: Ukraine got weapons, but Russia dodged a bullet og:url: https://time.com/7302282/trumps-putin-ukraine-war-standoff-peace-plan-patriot-weapons/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9742bd781adb652d/6998c83f07a30d970b77d2ab/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-war.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: President Trump Meets With NATO Secretary General Rutte At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's New Hard Line on Putin is Softer Than it Looks twitter:description: Ukraine got weapons, but Russia dodged a bullet twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9742bd781adb652d/6998c83f07a30d970b77d2ab/donald-trump-russia-ukraine-war.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's New Hard Line on Putin is Softer Than it Looks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=55320d76-8ddd-4828-aaa2-de2bc22ca2c7&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump and Rutte Announce Deal for U.S. to Send Ukraine Weapons Through NATO [Watch (HLS stream): Trump and Rutte Announce Deal for U.S. to Send Ukraine Weapons Through NATO](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u1w6j1x6.m3u8) (3:06)  _Published 2025-07-14. Trump confirmed that the United States would send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine as part of a broader weapons package coordinated through NATO._  by [Simon Shuster](https://time.com/author/simon-shuster/)  ## Simon Shuster Senior Correspondent Jul 15, 2025 10:00 AM UTC Trump confirmed that the United States would send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine as part of a broader weapons package coordinated through NATO.  by [Simon Shuster](https://time.com/author/simon-shuster/)  ## Simon Shuster Senior Correspondent Jul 15, 2025 10:00 AM UTC Both of the warring sides in Ukraine had reason to feel relieved on Monday when President Donald Trump announced his latest plan for peace. For the Ukrainians, the proposal included an influx of desperately needed American weapons, which will help shield civilians from Russian bombs and rearm the Ukrainian military. For the Russians, the plan left plenty of room to maneuver, and did not impose nearly as much pain as many in Moscow had feared. Indeed, the only punishment built into Trump’s proposal would [impose](https://time.com/7302158/trump-tariffs-putin-ukraine-russia-war-nato-weapons/) tariffs of 100% against Russia and its trading partners if the Kremlin does not accept a ceasefire soon. But those tariffs would only kick in after 50 days without a peace deal, leaving Russia enough time to continue its summer offensive in Ukraine, aiming to conquer four regions before the autumn rains make it more difficult for the invasion to move forward. If they succeed, Vladimir Putin would be able to claim victory rather than negotiating on Trump’s terms. “Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.” Even if the Russians fail over the next 50 days to conquer the territory Putin wants, the threatened tariffs of 100% would not be likely to dissuade him from pushing ahead into the fall. Trump’s own allies on Capitol Hill had urged the White House to set tariffs at 500% on Russia and any country that buys its oil. The proposal, championed by Senator Lindsey Graham, was meant to stop India and China from financing Russia’s military through the oil trade. The idea had broad bipartisan support, but last week the White House urged lawmakers to hold off, according to a source close to Senate leadership. “Trump doesn’t want it,” the source said, asking not to be named in order discuss the sensitive deliberations. What Trump wanted became clear on Monday, when he presented a watered down version of Graham's proposal. Known as the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, the bill had the support of more than 80 Senators, and Graham expressed confidence last week that it would soon pass. But on Monday, Trump seemed unsure whether the sanctions bill should move forward toward a vote. “I’m not sure we need it,” he said. The sense of relief was clear on the Moscow Stock Exchange, as traders absorbed Trump’s latest threat. The main Russian stock index jumped by 2.7% and the ruble strengthened against the dollar on Monday. Apart from the 50-day grace period, Russian investors appeared to appreciate the fact that the White House tends to back away from its tariff threats as often as it makes them. “Trump performed below market expectations,” one financial analyst in Moscow [told Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russian-rouble-stock-market-gain-after-trumps-statement-russia-2025-07-14/), adding that the U.S. president “likes to postpone and extend such deadlines.” Trump’s proposal may also have a deeper weakness—a failure to account for how much Putin has already wagered in Ukraine, and how much pain he is willing to suffer to avoid defeat. Three and a half years into the full-scale war, he has already sacrificed hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers, and Trump said on Monday that more than 5,000 of them continue to die every day. No sitting president in the world has faced more sanctions and international isolation than Putin has over the war in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court indicted him for war crimes in 2022, making it difficult for him to travel without the fear of arrest and extradition to the Hague. “He’s too deep into it now,” says Putin’s associate in Moscow. “He can’t give up, and he’s far from feeling like he is about to lose. On the contrary, he feels like he has the upper hand.” Despite the plodding pace of the Russian advances and the enormous losses they have faced, Putin's troops have crept forward in recent months toward his goal of taking all of Ukraine’s eastern regions. Nothing in the proposal Trump announced on Monday is likely to force Putin to abandon that objective. ## Transcript [00:00] And we make the best equipment, [00:03] the best missiles, the best of everything. [00:05] The European nations know that. [00:09] And we've made a deal today. [00:11] And I'm going to have Mark speak about it. [00:12] But we've made a deal today where we are going [00:15] to be sending them weapons and they're going to be paying for them. [00:19] We, the United States, [00:20] will not be having any payment made. [00:24] We are not buying it, [00:25] but we will manufacture it and they're going to be paying for it. [00:29] Uh, our last meeting of a month ago is very successful, [00:32] and that they agreed to 5%, [00:34] which is more than $1 trillion a year. [00:36] So they have a lot of money. And they these are wealthy nations. [00:39] They have a lot of money and they want to do it. [00:41] They feel very strongly about it, [00:42] and we feel strongly about it too. [00:45] But we're in for a lot of money and we just we don't want to do any more. [00:49] And we can't, but we make the best and we're going to be [00:51] sending the best to NATO and in some cases to maybe, [00:55] uh, at Mark's suggestion, [00:56] if we go to Germany where they're going to send early on [01:00] missiles and they'll be replaced and NATO is going to take care of it. [01:04] It's going to be coordinated by NATO, [01:07] and they're going to work very much with Matt Whitaker, who's right here, [01:10] who's a great ambassador, [01:12] and Matt's going to be coordinating. [01:13] You better do a good job, Matt. [01:14] I will. And if you could say a few words. [01:16] Absolutely. You know, Mr. President, [01:18] dear Donald, this is really big. [01:21] This is really big. You called me on Thursday that you had taken a decision. [01:26] And a decision is that you want Ukraine what it needs to have to maintain, [01:32] to be able to defend itself against Russia. [01:35] But you don't want Europeans to pay for it, [01:37] which is totally logical. [01:39] Um, and this is building on the tremendous success of the NATO summit, uh, the 5%, [01:45] but also the decision to keep Ukraine strong and [01:48] the decision to increase our defense, industrial production. [01:52] So based on that, [01:54] this is that was Europe stepping up. [01:56] This is again, Europeans stepping up. [01:58] So I've been in contact with many countries. [02:00] I can tell you that at this moment Germany massively, [02:03] but also Finland and Denmark and Sweden and Norway, [02:07] Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada. [02:09] They all want to be part of this. [02:11] And this is only the first wave. There will be more. [02:13] So what we will do is work through the NATO systems to [02:16] make sure that we know what Ukrainians need, [02:19] so that we can make packages. [02:20] Of course, in a way, we discussed it this morning with [02:22] Pete at the Pentagon in a way that, [02:25] of course, the US will put on its stockpiles necessary to defend this country. [02:30] That's absolutely clear. [02:31] But it will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on [02:35] really massive numbers of military equipment, [02:39] both for air defence, [02:41] but also missiles, ammunition, etc., etc.. [02:44] So if I was Vladimir Putin today and you were speaking [02:48] about what you were planning to do in 50 days and these announcements, [02:51] I would reconsider whether I should not take negotiations about [02:56] Ukraine more seriously than I was doing at the moment if I was Putin, but I'm Ukraine. [03:01] I think this is really great news for them. [03:02] So I really want to thank you for that. 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