Former Ukraine aid critics now back Trump's strategy requiring European funding for weapons to Kyiv after the president pivoted his frustration from Zelenskyy to Putin.

For a fleeting moment, Ukraine’s conflict may have come full circle. In the past 48 hours, US President Donald Trump has perhaps said his most forcefully direct words yet on arming Ukraine. And in the same period,

President Trump threatens Putin with 100% tariffs if no Ukraine peace deal is reached within 50 days, while confirming arms sales to NATO to support Ukrainian resistance.

The change in Trump’s approach may also mean that the $US8 billion (£6 billion) of frozen Russian assets in the US (and US$223 billion in Europe) could be released to aid Ukraine, which would provide a ready means to pay for the US arms transfers.

This suggests that Putin really is serious about trying to reestablish the former Soviet Empire. This cannot be allowed. On the other hand, Putin’s regime has shown a willingness to engage in nuclear blackmail, and a cornered Kremlin may not be bluffing.

Republicans who previously have sounded off about U.S. aid to Ukraine sounded cautiously optimistic about the new plan to offer U.S. weapons to the war effort through a purchase by other NATO countries.

Ukraine will get its first new prime minister of the war on Thursday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tries to wrestle wartime defence spending into shape and win over both Donald Trump and a war-weary public with fresh-faced leadership.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) on Monday said whether President Trump wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia is an “open-ended question.” “I think it’s still an open-ended