President Donald Trump made an announcement Monday aligning him more firmly with Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion than ever before.

President Donald Trump’s new weapons deal and his increasing criticism of Vladimir Putin have sparked fear among some Russians that Putin could overplay his hand.

About a month ago, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a trip to Ukraine to advocate for greater pressure against Russia. “President Trump said Ukraine doesn’t have good cards…but the world has a lot of cards against Russia,” Graham said. “And one of those cards we have is about to be played in the United States Senate.”

New developments Tuesday reinforced the idea that President Donald Trump has significantly shifted his view of the Ukraine war.

Trump said the United States would put secondary tariffs on countries that do business with Russia if a peace deal is not reached in 50 days.

After years pressing to end U.S. aid to Ukraine, many Republicans have abandoned that position now that President Trump is supporting the country against Russian aggression.

KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg on Monday in the capital Kyiv, where they discussed boosting Ukraine's air defences and Kyiv buying weapons with European help.

The change in Trump’s approach may also mean that the $US8 billion (£6 billion) of frozen Russian assets in the US (and US$223 billion in Europe) could be released to aid Ukraine, which would provide a ready means to pay for the US arms transfers.

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.