In just seven weeks since returning to the White House for a second term, Donald Trump has upended the US approach to the invasion of Ukraine and treated Russia increasingly not as an adversary, but an ally.
After tossing aside decades of alignment with Europe against Russian aggression, the US president suspended military assistance and intelligence to Kyiv and said on Friday he finds it “easier” to work with Russia than Ukraine.
Here’s a timeline of the Trump administration’s moves towards an apparent new alliance.
12 February: Trump-Putin call to begin negotiations on ending war
Moscow political circles were jubilant after Trump held a direct call with Putin, during which the two leaders agreed bilaterally to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
The 90-minute call marked Putin’s most significant diplomatic breakthrough in years, and dealt a blow to the west’s three-year effort to isolate the Russian president.
Trump spoke to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy only after the Putin call – in effect imposing the terms of the conversation on the Ukrainian president.
Russian officials have said that preparations are under way for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin. Putin has also invited Trump to visit Moscow, which if accepted would be the first visit by an American president to Russia since 2009.
12 February – rules out Nato membership for Ukraine
On the same day as the Putin-Trump call, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out Nato membership for Ukraine.
Hegseth, speaking at a summit in Brussels, said it was “unrealistic” for Ukraine to expect to return to its pre-2014 borders, and insisted that any peace agreement would have to be secured by “capable European and non-European troops”, whom he stressed would not come from the US.
14 February – ignores Ukraine war to attack European allies in Munich speech
European leaders were stunned when US vice-president JD Vance launched a blistering ideological attack on Washington’s allies and questioned whether the US and Europe any longer had a shared agenda.
Vance had been expected to address the critical question of the Ukraine war in his speech at this year’s Munich security conference, but instead he barely mentioned the conflict and instead argued that the true threat to Europe came not from Russia or China, but from what he called a retreat from its “most fundamental values” of protecting free speech.
18 February – holds talks to agree on improving diplomatic relations
Top US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to hold their most extensive high-level talks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, during which they agreed to work towards ending the war and improving US-Russian diplomatic and economic ties.
The talks in Riyadh, attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, marked a tectonic shift in Washington’s approach to Moscow and a dramatic break with Joe Biden’s efforts to isolate Russia.
No Ukrainian or European officials were present at the meeting.
19 February – blames Kyiv for starting the war, calls for elections in Ukraine
Trump appeared to blame Kyiv for Moscow’s invasion and said he was “disappointed” that Zelenskyy complained about being left out of US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia.
Trump also pressured Zelenskyy to hold elections – echoing one of Moscow’s key demands. Under Ukraine’s constitution, elections are suspended while martial law is in force.
Later that day, Trump escalated his attacks on Zelenskyy by calling him a “dictator” warning that he “better move fast” or he “won’t have a country left”.
24 February – votes with Russia in the UN resolutions
In a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations, the US split with its European allies and sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The US joined Russia, Belarus and North Korea in voting against a European-drafted UN general assembly resolution condemning Russia’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It was the first time since the Russian invasion that the US voted against a resolution backed by Ukraine.
The US then drafted and voted for a resolution in the UN security council which called for a “swift end to the conflict”, but contained no criticism of Russia. The Kremlin praised Washington for its “much more balanced” stance and backed the resolution.
28 February – publicly berates Zelenskyy in the Oval Office
In an Oval Office meeting that will surely remembered as one of the greatest diplomatic disasters in modern history, Trump and Vance teamed up to openly berate and humiliate Zelenskyy in front of the world’s cameras.
Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington to discuss a minerals deal with the US that was meant to pave the way towards a ceasefire with Russia. Instead, the meeting devolved into acrimony and chaos and a joint press conference to announce the deal was cancelled.
Russian officials reacted with glee to the extraordinary scenes.
1 March – retreats from fight against Russian cyber threats
The Guardian reported that the Trump administration has publicly and privately signaled that it does not believe Russia represents a cyber threat against US national security or critical infrastructure, marking a radical departure from longstanding intelligence assessments.
Analysts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been instructed not to follow or report on Russian threats, even though this had previously been a main focus for the agency.
3 and 5 March: suspends US military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine
Shortly after the Oval Office blow-up, the Trump administration suspended delivery of all US military aid and stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine, part of a pressure campaign to force Kyiv to cooperate with the White House’s plans to negotiate a peace deal with Russia.
US national security adviser Mike Waltz confirmed the US had “taken a step back” and was reviewing “all aspects” of its relationship with Ukraine. He suggested that military assistance could resume if Kyiv agrees to participate in US-led negotiations.
The Trump administration was also reported to be drawing up a plan to restore ties with Russia and lift sanctions on the Kremlin, as part of the administration’s broad talks with Moscow on improving diplomatic and economic relations.
7 March – says it’s ‘easier’ to work with Moscow than Kyiv
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after a massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine, Trump said he finds it “easier” to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin “wants to end the war”.
“I believe him,” Trump said when asked if he believed Putin still wanted peace. “I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. They don’t have the cards.” He added that he has “always had a good relationship” with Putin.
Asked if the Russian leader was taking advantage of the pause in US intelligence sharing and military aid to Ukraine, Trump replied: “I think he’s doing what anyone else would do.”
