--- title: Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters description: A new package for Kyiv includes Patriots, a regular flow of arms, and secondary tariffs on Russian oil, writes Daniel Fried. canonical: https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/ author: Daniel Fried article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-15T11:00:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T13:05:30.064Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters og:description: A new plan to funnel billions in "top of the line" weapons is his most forceful backing of Ukraine yet, writes Daniel Fried. og:url: https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b7aad7df260b7f9/6998c840e2d64ba1e8c5f824/GettyImages-2225080165.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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: Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters twitter:description: A new plan to funnel billions in "top of the line" weapons is his most forceful backing of Ukraine yet, writes Daniel Fried. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b7aad7df260b7f9/6998c840e2d64ba1e8c5f824/GettyImages-2225080165.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters by [Daniel Fried](https://time.com/author/daniel-fried/) ## Daniel Fried Contributor Daniel Fried is a veteran U.S. diplomat and the Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Jul 15, 2025 11:00 AM UTC  President Donald Trump greets NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is meeting with Rutte a day after announcing that the U.S. will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's intensifying aerial attacks. President Donald Trump greets NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is meeting with Rutte a day after announcing that the U.S. will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's intensifying aerial attacks.Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images by [Daniel Fried](https://time.com/author/daniel-fried/) ## Daniel Fried Contributor Daniel Fried is a veteran U.S. diplomat and the Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Jul 15, 2025 11:00 AM UTC President Donald J. Trump has often touted “major” statements. But this time he delivered. His announcement on Monday that he would send “top of the line” weapons to Ukraine and [slap Russia with “severe” sanctions](https://time.com/7302158/trump-tariffs-putin-ukraine-russia-war-nato-weapons/) if it doesn’t agree to a ceasefire within 50 days marks a turnabout, especially for a man who only months earlier [had bullied](https://time.com/7263232/kyiv-pride-fear-after-zelensky-confronts-trump/) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Significantly, the move was jointly announced with [NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte](https://time.com/7295448/rutte-nato-secretary-general-interview/), who was in the Oval Office with Trump. As usual, Trump did most of the talking, but Rutte was clearly on board and confirmed key details. In other words, this wasn’t a unilateral Trump move nor a matter of whim, but a coordinated transatlantic effort that follows the [upbeat NATO summit](https://time.com/7297825/donald-trump-nato-summit/) in June that Rutte skilfully guided. That’s progress. The package, at least as initially announced, has a lot: [Patriot missiles](https://www.ft.com/content/c4496a98-8de9-4cd0-ab19-0daae0772193) and perhaps Patriot batteries, dispatched immediately, with Europeans paying for them; a [regular flow](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/14/politics/us-ukraine-weapons-trump) of more U.S. weapons to Ukraine, coordinated with European governments and NATO, also with Europeans paying; and new economic pressure on Russia if there is no ceasefire, including [secondary tariffs](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c36xrr9kj11t) up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil. Many, myself included, would have preferred the U.S. share the costs of new weapons for Ukraine with the Europeans. Ukraine’s survival is in America’s interest, too. But it was only two weeks ago that the Pentagon [paused weapons transfers](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/us/politics/trump-ukraine-weapons.html) to Ukraine. A full American abandonment of Ukraine seemed to be unfolding, and Trump’s decision up until Monday not to approve any new weapons for Kyiv was a big incentive for Vladimir Putin to keep up his maximal aims. He now says he’s “very, very unhappy” with Putin and has privately urged Zelensky to step up deep strikes inside Russia, the [FT reported](https://www.ft.com/content/b66f03b5-e295-4f8c-92ba-516a527d588c). Critics of the package have argued that the 50-day deadline gives Russia time to keep pounding Ukraine. That’s an understandable reaction. But sending weapons to Ukraine now and threatening a new tranche of economic pressure against Russia to achieve a ceasefire and ultimately a deal to end the war—a Trump priority that [Zelensky accepted](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/11/world/ukraine-us-talks-saudi-arabia-intl) and Putin scorned—could work as a one-two punch, if the sanctions truly bite. Unfortunately, the new tranche of economic pressure doesn’t quite seem ready. The threat of 100% secondary tariffs alongside the [bipartisan Graham-Blumenthal sanctions bill](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/13/politics/russia-sanctions-bill-trump-senators-bipartisan) that targets Russian oil sales are the right targets. But tariffs of 100% or 500% against countries that buy a lot of Russian oil, including China and India, might not be practical given the complex web of trade and tariff dealmaking with these countries. The Graham-Blumenthal bill, still making its way through Congress, could be made more workable by offering a waiver if countries kept “significantly” reducing oil purchases. That was an approach that [yielded results](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/putins-pressure-point) with Iran during the Obama Administration. Still, this is Trump’s most forceful backing of Ukraine yet, and Zelensky is now [reshuffling his government](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/15/ukraine-zelensky-government-reshuffle-trump-svyrydenko/) with an eye toward strong cooperation with Washington. Trump’s U-Turn seems partly the result of European leaders, Rutte especially, who worked hard to develop common ground with the U.S. President. It also seems to be the result of growing irritation with Putin. Trump said Monday that Putin talks “so beautifully” when it comes to a ceasefire but “then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.” Recent U.S. Presidents, like Trump, have courted better ties with Putin. But all failed because the Russian President’s terms always turned out to be the U.S. giving him a free hand for oppression at home and aggression against his neighbors—especially Georgia and Ukraine—that Putin treated as mere provinces of a restored Russian Empire. Neither George W. Bush nor Obama, both of whom I worked for while in government, would accept those terms. Six months into Trump’s second term, the U.S. and Europe finally seem to be getting on the same page when it comes to Ukraine. Russia’s economy is vulnerable. Its [war casualties are enormous](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/jun/22/one-million-and-counting-russian-casualties-hit-milestone-in-ukraine-war), all with minimal advances on the ground. Putin’s arrogance in wanting total Ukrainian surrender could prove his downfall, if only Trump sticks to his position. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/"},"headline":"Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters","datePublished":"2025-07-15T11:00:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T13:05:30.064Z","description":"A new plan to funnel billions in \"top of the line\" weapons is the President's most forceful backing of Ukraine yet.","url":"https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/","keywords":["world affairs","freelance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b7aad7df260b7f9/6998c840e2d64ba1e8c5f824/GettyImages-2225080165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel Fried","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-fried/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b7aad7df260b7f9/6998c840e2d64ba1e8c5f824/GettyImages-2225080165.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Meets With NATO Secretary General Rutte At The White House","caption":"President Trump Meets With NATO Secretary General Rutte At The White House","creditText":"Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-affairs/","name":"world affairs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7302305/trump-ukraine-patriots-russia-sanctions/","name":"Why Trump's U-Turn on Ukraine Matters"}}]}] ```