Trump talks tougher toward Putin but has yet to ramp up Ukraine assistance

The bromance between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has noticeably fizzled in the new term, although assistance to Ukraine has not yet been ratcheted up.

WASHINGTON — The bromance between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has noticeably fizzled in the new term, though Trump has yet to reveal the extent to which he’ll pressure Russia to end its grinding war with Ukraine.

Since taking office, Trump has dropped talk of Putin’s strategic "genius" and “savvy.” In a conspicuous rhetorical shift, Trump has instead been warning that the Russian president he once called "very smart" is leading his country to ruin by prolonging the war.

“He [Putin] should make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on his first day back in the White House. “I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia is going to be in big trouble.”

The rationale behind the frostier tone is simple enough. Trump promised during the campaign to end the fighting within 24 hours of taking office, if not sooner. That deadline has passed, meaning the clock is ticking on Trump’s vow to stop a costly, destructive war that began nearly three years ago when Russia invaded its democratic neighbor.

Trump needs both Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to come to the table and negotiate a peace deal, which for Russia means abandoning any hope of swallowing up Ukraine in its entirety.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-putin-ukraine-assistance-rcna189748

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