On July 14, United States President Donald Trump teased a sea change in his approach to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Trump declared he would send significant additional air defence units to Ukraine, whose cities are now subject to an average onslaught of more than 100 Russian drones and missiles daily. Leaks from the White House even claimed Trump had inquired with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a preceding phone call about what offensive weaponry Kyiv needed to hit Moscow directly.Trump also made his most explicit sanction threat to date, proposing a 100 percent “secondary tariff” on countries that buy Russian oil, if the Kremlin does not agree to a ceasefire in 50 days, by September 3. But Trump’s tough talk has fallen far short of moving the dial. Russian officials have laughed off his claims about hitting Moscow. Air defence deliveries may lower the damage from Putin’s aerial onslaught, but delivering them in anything like the numbers Trump floated will take many months.
Trump’s sanctions threat has not moved markets, though such a restriction would amount to an attempted blockade of the world’s third-largest oil producer.
That Trump has shifted his approach to Russia should, however, come as no surprise. Despite Trump’s apparent personal affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, regarding Ukraine and Russia, his view …
