US President Donald Trump has begun to pay significantly less attention to russia’s war against Ukraine, and Europe has stopped waiting for him to refocus on the issue.
This is reported by the authors of the influential publication Politico.
Nearly two months after the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Trump’s fixation on the Middle East has relegated russia’s war against Ukraine to a secondary issue for the White House.
“Things seem to be stuck and need new momentum,” said a European official.
“While the president and his team are working towards a deal that will ensure Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, they also continue to make progress to end the war between Russia and Ukraine,” said White House spokesperson Olivia Wales.
According to her, Trump believes that a peace agreement will eventually be reached between Ukraine and russia that will “put an end to senseless killings.”
But attention to Ukraine in the West Wing of the White House has clearly waned. Ahead of Trump’s recent phone call with russian dictator vladimir putin, a senior White House official said he could not recall the last time he heard anyone talk about russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Iran has definitely become the primary focus,” said the senior US official.
Trump’s two top envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are primarily focused on the issue of war with Iran, the official added. Although “some communication” between Trump’s envoys and the Russians and Ukrainians is still ongoing.
For Europeans, Trump’s retreat and his sharp outbursts have provided a new understanding of the urgent need for greater autonomy and independence from Washington.
“The impact of the war in Iran and the current blockage of the Strait of Hormuz is huge and negative for Ukraine and Europe. If anything, it has strengthened European resolve to stand by Ukraine,” said a European official.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has persistently sought Trump’s support over the past year, appears to be moving away from attempts to convince the US to remain engaged in the peace process and is instead developing a strategy for proceeding without Washington.
Zelenskyy has become more cautious about the future role of the US and now hopes that Turkey will host a potential new round of talks with russia. In Ukraine, confidence in future US support is waning.
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, considers Washington’s policy of seeking rapprochement with russia and abandoning Ukraine to be a strategic mistake.
There have been other signs that the administration’s focus has shifted away from Ukraine. The acting US ambassador to Ukraine, Julie Davis, will leave her post in the coming weeks due to disagreements with Trump over policy toward Kyiv. Republicans pressed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth this week on why the Pentagon had not allocated the USD 400 million approved by Congress to support Ukraine.
Across Europe, longtime US allies are contemplating new coalitions.
“Trump’s prioritizing of Iran over Ukraine, is leading Europeans to prepare more urgently for collective security outside of the United States’ Article V commitment,” notes American political scientist Ian Bremmer.
But European officials acknowledge that the process of decoupling from the US after decades of dependence on Washington will be slow. And some still believe that Trump should serve as a catalyst when it comes to ending russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Continued US engagement is necessary though because they have serious leverage. It would be great to see US negotiators visit Kyiv. At minimum, the US should continue military and intelligence support to Ukraine. But I think Europeans could assume a greater role and bring a new dynamic to the talks, provided the Americans keep supporting Ukraine and help guarantee whatever is agreed. After all, Trump wants this war to end,” said a European official.
For most of the first year after Trump returned to the US presidency, European leaders tried to appease him with flattery, accepted higher tariffs, and committed to increasing defense spending. All of this was considered a price worth paying to ensure Trump did not turn his back on Ukraine and begin attempting to strike a new bilateral economic deal with moscow.
However, the rift between the Trump administration and European allies has widened. Trump has gone from threatening earlier this year to seize Greenland to attacking specific NATO allies and planning to punish them for refusing to join the war against Iran. Recently, Trump ordered the Pentagon to withdraw some US troops from Germany.
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