On Monday, the Kremlin commended the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for its efforts to understand the “root causes” of the Ukraine conflict and work toward a resolution, highlighting a stark contrast with Europe’s approach. The remarks represent one of the clearest acknowledgments from the Kremlin of the significant shift in U.S. policy since Trump took office five weeks ago. Departing from years of efforts under former President Joe Biden to hold Moscow accountable, Trump has acted swiftly to strengthen ties with President Vladimir Putin and endorse certain Kremlin narratives regarding the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed the Trump team for taking up a new strategy and attempting to resolve the war. He also noted that the US approach differed significantly from that of the European Union, which has failed to engage Russia on this issue and instead blames Kyiv for causing the war.
Peskov made the remarks after Trump criticized Zelenskiy for complaining about being left out of a meeting in Riyadh between Ukraine’s foreign minister and Russian representatives to discuss ending the war. Trump suggested that Zelenskiy was behind Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Experts say Moscow’s action was sparked by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to expand his empire into Europe.
Trump’s rebuke of Zelenskiy followed calls by his national security adviser to rethink Washington’s approach to the conflict and focus on working with Europe to strengthen the continent’s defenses. The rethink was announced shortly after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Kyiv for talks with Zelenskiy on Wednesday, where the Ukrainian leader urged him to rethink his stance and seek peace.
Pompeo reportedly reassured the Ukrainian leader that the United States would not abandon Ukraine or its NATO allies in a deal with Russia, despite his warnings that the US was considering allowing Ukraine to join the alliance if it signed a comprehensive peace deal with Moscow. Pompeo also promised to hold further talks with Putin and other key Russian officials.
Pompeo’s visit and call with Zelenskiy were part of a broader effort to revive stalled negotiations between Ukraine and Russia that could ease the escalating crisis in the country’s east. However, experts say there is a growing consensus that the talks will never succeed if Putin remains unwilling to compromise with Kyiv.
The developments also came on the same day that Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told journalists that it was unrealistic to expect Ukraine to restore its borders before Russia seized them in 2014. Moreover, it comes days after the Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard, who is widely seen as sympathetic to Putin, as the next director of national intelligence. It has raised concerns in Ukraine that the US is shifting to a more pragmatic approach to dealing with Russia. That could be dangerous for Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
