Did Trump Chicken Out on Ukraine?
Consequences against Putin delayed and few details given
In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly hinted that he would finally change his tune on Vladimir Putin. Western broadsheets echoed that he might impose costs on the Russian leader for his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, albeit with the caveat that nothing had been decided. Trump said in an interview with NBC News last week that he would have a "major statement" to make on Russia on July 14.
Well, he made an announcement in an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. There was a lot of tough talk, but few details given and the threats against Putin were delayed until an arbitrary future date.
Trump announced a plan to speed Patriot air defense systems and other weapons "quickly" to Ukraine, with European nations buying them from the U.S. and sending them to Ukraine or using them to replace existing stockpiles. This could certainly help Ukraine as it has faced Russian barrages of upwards of 700 drones, decoy drones, and missiles per night. However, Trump didn't specify which countries would be sending the Patriot systems. As vital as Patriots are, long-range missiles and U.S. permission to strike deep inside Russia are necessary to degrade and destroy Russia's defense-industrial base that manufactures ballistic missiles. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported that these "might" be part of the new package. Yet, on July 15, when asked whether he would send long-range missiles to Ukraine, Trump said, “No, we’re not looking to do that.”
Moreover, Trump's threats against Putin were -- like a previous deadline of two weeks -- set into the future.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Public Sphere to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.