By Wallace White

Written by Wallace White

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

Editors’ Note: President Trump’s bombastic style has carried him a long way, but so far has not moved Putin.  His fervent expectation that Vladimir Putin would seek a settlement with Ukraine, given that Trump was now the US President, appears to be in trouble. The alliance between Russia and China is formidable. He has given the Russians a lot of opportunity, and their response seems to be to gear up for more war. What is Trump now supposed to do?  He may be forced to backpedal to his political base in the interest of stopping aggression. Meanwhile, Zelensky remains as obdurate as Putin and runs a corrupt regime that keeps cancelling elections and imprisoning political opposition. To be sure, this situation is not of Trump’s making. This mess occurred mainly on the Democrats’ watch, and they distracted the American people by trying to undermine Trump’s first term by associating Trump with Russia. Putin made his aggressive moves under the Democrats. Socialist leaders of NATO have also been responsible for the current situation by adopting a green agenda and then relying on Russian energy. They also pushed for aggressive expansion of NATO to Russia’s borders, despite the warnings Putin provided. The pathetic state of the European defense establishment was also a significant incentive for Putin. However, it now appears that additional pressure needs to be put on Putin.  He would not go for the carrot, so it is time for the stick. But the US does not want, and is not ready for, a land war in Eastern Europe. Trump has a difficult needle to thread, and we should all appreciate the situation he now faces.  He does not want a war, but rewarding aggression can also encourage war. 

President Donald Trump will reportedly announce a new plan Monday to support Ukraine, and offensive weapons are expected to be part of the plan, sources told Axios.

Such a move would further indicate a major pivot in policy for the Trump administration towards Ukraine after Trump greenlit sending Patriot missile defense batteries to Ukraine July 7 after a temporary pause, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Axios. The president has become publicly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing the leader of stalling peace talks to continue his military campaign.

Trump is expected to announce the plan during his meeting with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte on Monday morning, according to Axios. The shipments reportedly may include long-range missiles that could strike as deep as Moscow, two sources told Axios, though neither source was aware of any final decision.

“Putin really surprised a lot of people,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “He talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening. So there’s a little bit of a problem there. I don’t like it.” Ukraine received $66.9 billion worth of U.S. weapons from the start of the war in 2022 through March 2025, according to the State Department.

Shipments of Patriot batteries were initially paused on July 2 pending a review of U.S. weapons stockpiles, a move that was possibly the brainchild of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby. Dwindling U.S. armament stockpiles have long been a concern of foreign policy and defense experts.

However, Trump then announced July 7 the missile shipments would resume, but the shipments would contain fewer Patriot batteries than initially planned and have their price tag covered by NATO. Trump was reportedly hesitant to send the Patriot batteries to Ukraine, telling his confidants that “this isn’t my war” at the time, sources told Axios on July 8.

Russia and Ukraine have continued to exchange drone and missile strikes while the frontlines on the ground remain relatively stable. Ahead of Trump’s expected announcement, Russia launched 136 drones into Ukraine, with Kiev neutralizing 108 drones while the rest impacted 10 locations, ABC News reported Monday.

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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