Is Trump Turning Against Vladimir Putin? |
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Meetings with Donald Trump haven’t always gone well for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a 2019 phone call, Trump unsuccessfully pressured Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden. In a 2025 Oval Office ambush, Trump accused Zelensky of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. help after Russia invaded. So it’s notable that during this week’s NATO summit, Trump and Zelensky largely got along. Their ability to meet cordially isn’t just about manners; it’s a metric of Trump’s support for Ukraine and, more broadly, for the Western-led world order of which NATO is a big part. Let’s dive in.
What did Trump say at this meeting that was good news for Ukraine?At NATO’s annual summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, Trump said he would let Ukraine manufacture Patriot defense systems, sophisticated U.S. mobile batteries that can shoot down enemy ballistic missiles. “That’s really cool, right?” Trump said, with Zelensky beside him.
How will that help Ukraine?In two related ways. Russia has stepped up ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, which are running low on Patriot interceptors. Russia launched those barrages in response to Ukrainian drone........