Filenews 18 August 2025
Mark Temnycky
On Friday, President Donald Trump flew to Alaska to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. At the center of their talks is the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. They did not reach an agreement on how to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of the European Union and NATO were absent from the summit. This was a remarkable change in U.S. foreign policy, since until recently the U.S. was in coordination with its European allies and Kiev in all talks regarding the Russian invasion. In addition, it suggests that the US is changing its attitude towards Ukraine and Russia.
Let's look at how U.S.-Ukraine and U.S.-Russia relations changed during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia under Biden
When the Russian Federation began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, then-President Joe Biden told Zelensky that the United States and its allies would "support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country." The US president also promised that he would "never walk away from Ukraine".
Then Biden took action. From February 2022 to December 2024, his government provided assistance of about 200 billion euros. to Ukraine. This amount ranged from weapons and defense equipment to medical devices, as well as humanitarian and financial aid.
U.S. support, combined with aid provided by other states from around the world, led Ukraine to successfully expel Russians from northern and central Ukraine. In addition, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development worked with Ukrainian officials to help the Ukrainian government move forward with reforms. Thus, Ukraine was placed under the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
In addition, Biden repeatedly contacted Zelensky about Russia's ongoing invasion. Washington has leaked information to Kiev in order to help Ukrainian forces repel the Russian military. Biden has had meetings with members of the US Congress to propose new aid packages and other forms of support to Ukraine.
Although the U.S. was slow in some cases to provide assistance to Ukraine, and although there were restrictions on how Ukrainian forces could use U.S. assistance, the Biden administration has been steadily strengthening its support for Ukraine. Biden repeatedly proclaimed that the United States would stand by Ukraine "for as long as it takes." He also argued that there could be no peace solution in Ukraine without Kiev taking part in the negotiations, which would be conducted under Ukraine's conditions alone.
The U.S. has worked closely with its allies and partners to build an international coalition in favor of Ukraine. About 80 states from around the world have come together to provide hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. All this support contributed greatly to successfully defending Kiev against the Russian invasion.
The international coalition for Ukraine
This international coalition has condemned the Russian invasion. For example, a United Nations resolution adopted by 141 countries demanded that Russia "immediately, fully and unconditionally" withdraw its military forces from Ukraine. In addition, the Russian Federation's participation in the UN Human Rights Council was suspended.
In addition to these condemnations at the UN level, dozens of states have worked together to impose severe sanctions against Russia in retaliation for the invasion. For example, the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, NATO, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and many other states have worked together to impose sanctions on Russian entities and companies in the energy sector. More than 1,000 companies have ceased operations in Russia. The Russian Federation has been excluded from organisations such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, FIFA and UEFA. The visas of Russian businessmen and politicians were revoked and they were banned from entering Western countries. Also, Russian assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars were frozen or confiscated.
Biden saw the world unite against the Russian Federation, condemning the invasion of Ukraine. Coordinated sanctions have led Russia to billions of dollars in losses. The Russians also suffered significant losses in manpower during the war. Not a single life was lost by an American soldier in service.
The policies adopted by Biden suggested that the U.S. would continue to help Ukraine. U.S. government officials, as well as their counterparts from various countries, refused to meet with Putin and Russian representatives. A fact that reinforced the condemnation of the Russian military operation.
U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia under Trump
Now the U.S. approach to Ukraine and Russia has changed. While Biden has stated that the US will provide aid to Ukraine "for as long as it takes", Trump takes a different stance. During the campaign for the 2024 presidential election, Trump argued that the United States is providing too much aid to Ukraine. He said Ukraine should have "ceded some territory" to Russia.
Trump continued in the same pattern after the U.S. election and his inauguration in January. In the first weeks of his return to the White House, Trump argued that Ukraine is "unlikely" to claim territory occupied by Russia. In March, the U.S. president ordered the Pentagon and the State Department to stop sending defense and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The U.S. has also stopped exchanging information with Ukraine.
After all this, the US lifted the "freeze" of the defense aid mission to Ukraine, and in July deliveries of defense equipment resumed. The cessation of the exchange of information has also been abolished. The U.S. sold weapons to NATO member states, which were sent to the Ukrainian armed forces.
While Trump changed his stance on providing defense assistance to Ukraine, the U.S. continued to push for a ceasefire. These efforts were unsuccessful. According to Reuters and the Kyiv Independent newspaper, Russia was violating the ceasefire agreements proposed by the United States, even though negotiations between American and Russian officials were ongoing. These meetings from February to August did not lead to an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition, a ceasefire has not yet been achieved. Trump was clear after his meeting with Putin in Alaska, stating, "There is no agreement [to end the war] until there is an agreement."
In addition, Trump and senior officials in his administration continued to talk with their Russian counterparts. They have made telephone contacts and personal meetings without a Ukrainian or European presence. Therefore, Ukrainian and European officials have expressed concern that Trump may decide on the future of Ukraine and Europe without their participation in the negotiations. This policy differs significantly from that of the Biden administration. It should be noted that I participated in Biden's election campaign in 2020 and as in the "Ukrainian-Americans for Biden" initiative from 2021 to 2024.
In short, the U.S. approach to Ukraine and Russia during the Russian-Ukrainian war has changed over time. Initially, the United States cut off its communication with the Russian Federation. The Americans maintained a constant dialogue with Europe and Ukraine, and the U.S. had pledged to send aid to Ukraine. Now, the U.S. is pushing for an immediate end to the war. It is by no means certain that the U.S. is willing to continue providing aid to Ukraine while attempting to force Kiev to negotiate with Moscow. This, of course, will also depend on whether and when a ceasefire agreement is reached.
No one is sure how the Russian invasion of Ukraine will end. For now, the international community will continue to monitor how U.S. officials work with their Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, looking for a way to stop the war.
