The most dramatic example of unfulfilled expectations has come in Ukraine, the bloody conflict Trump promised to end even before his inauguration.

Trump’s decision to allow weapon sales to Ukraine culminated a five-month effort by allies to help Volodymyr Zelensky rebuild a relationship with the president.

Russia is making a summer push to break through the 1,000-km front line with drones and missiles hammering Ukrainian cities more than at any time in the past three years. View on euronews

US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum.

Ukraine has occasionally targeted the Russian capital, but has doubled down on drone strikes on Moscow in recent days.

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.

"He's come to the same conclusion as all of us, he's playing us," one European official said of President Donald Trump's new take on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In response, 65 percent of Trump voters backed the provision of arms to Ukraine, almost three times the 22 percent who opposed the move. The results suggest a shift in attitudes among Trump supporters toward aid for Ukraine over the past six months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants cease-fire negotiations next week and would be willing to meet directly and Russian President Vladimir Putin.