US President Donald Trump campaigned last year on a promise to end the Russia-Ukraine War. His efforts to achieve this goal are now rapidly transforming the geopolitical landscape.
Trump’s commitment to securing a peace deal clearly resonated with American voters, many of whom have long since grown tired of financing a brutal conflict that is now in its fourth year. Nevertheless, his apparent emphasis on rebuilding ties with Russia while pressuring Ukraine is sparking mounting alarm, both internationally and among domestic US audiences.
In the first days of his presidency, Trump’s initial diplomatic overtures seemed very much in line with his campaign trail talk of “peace through strength,” and included suggestions of tougher sanctions on Moscow. However, in recent weeks there has been a striking change in tone that has been accompanied by landmark news that the United States intends to dramatically reduce its role in European security.
The first sign of a major shift in US policy toward the war in Eastern Europe was the decision to embark on bilateral talks with Russia without Ukrainian or European participation. Then came a series of verbal attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who Trump branded a “dictator,” along with suggestions that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion.
This culminated on February 28, when Zelenskyy’s White House visit descended into a bitter and very public Oval Office spat that sent shock waves around the world. Although both sides have since indicated their readiness to reengage, the United States has underlined its displeasure by pausing all military assistance to Ukraine.
While Trump has adopted an increasingly uncompromising stance toward Ukraine, his Russian outreach has so far been marked by complimentary language, expressions of trust, and talk of new economic opportunities. Unsurprisingly, the signals coming from the new US administration have been warmly welcomed by the Kremlin. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted on March 2 that Trump’s rapidly changing foreign policy configurations now “largely coincide with our own.”
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Across Europe, Trump’s pursuit of a radical Russian reset has seriously undermined faith in the transatlantic alliance and led to a flurry of summits calling for urgent European rearmament. Closer to home, there are growing signs of disquiet in the United States over what many see as the new administration’s unprecedented turn toward Moscow.
It is not difficult to imagine why some in the US may be feeling uneasy about Trump’s approach to reviving relations with Russia. While polls have shown gradually declining public support for Ukraine, most data indicates that a majority still back the country in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion. Meanwhile, there is very little evidence of any American enthusiasm for Putin’s Russia.
In a fairly typical February 2025 Gallup poll, 63 percent of Americans viewed Ukraine favorably, while the figure for Russia was just 17 percent. Another recent survey found that 69 percent of Republican voters believe Russia is the aggressor and 83 percent disapprove of Putin. In a Reuters poll conducted in early March, Republican respondents were similarly dismissive of attempts to shift responsibility for Putin’s invasion onto Ukraine, with just 11 percent agreeing that the country was more to blame for the war.
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In recent weeks, there have been some rumblings of discontent from within the Republican Party itself. While Republicans largely remained quiet during the initial stages of Trump’s Russia policy shift, that may now be changing. When the United States sided with Moscow at the United Nations in late February to vote against a resolution condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins described the move as “shameful.”
Fellow Republican senator John Curtis said he was “deeply troubled” to see the US aligning with Russia and the likes of North Korea at the UN. “These are not our friends,” he commented. “This posture is a dramatic shift from American ideals of freedom and democracy. We all want an end to the war, but it must be achieved on terms that ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security and that deter Putin from pursuing further territorial ambitions.”
Some of the most pointed criticism of Trump’s efforts to broker negotiations between Russia and Ukraine has come from Republican congressman Don Bacon, who said the US leader should not have called Zelenskyy a dictator and also suggested he was far from alone in thinking so. “Many Republicans know what the president said was wrong,” Bacon commented. “Putin started this invasion. He is the dictator. He has killed all of his opponents. Zelenskyy was rightfully elected.”
There has also been push back from prominent Trump backers within the US media. As the president’s attacks on Ukraine’s Zelenskyy escalated in late February, Fox News host and longtime Trump loyalist Mark Levin responded by stating, “MAGA doesn’t support Putin.” Meanwhile, the normally pro-Trump New York Post ran a front page story featuring a giant portrait of Vladimir Putin alongside the banner headline: “President Trump: This is a dictator.”
The US Senate’s second most senior Republican woman, Lisa Murkowski, was one of the few party members to directly voice her concern following the disastrous recent Oval Office meeting. “I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach,” she commented. “The administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and US values around the world.”
It is still far too early to talk about serious domestic opposition to Trump’s Russia strategy. After more than three years of relentless bloodshed in Ukraine, many welcome his efforts to break the diplomatic deadlock and will applaud loudly if he is able to broker some kind of deal. However, recent expressions of dissatisfaction from Trump’s Republican Party colleagues and his own support base should serve as a warning against any attempt to abandon Ukraine entirely or impose a Kremlin-friendly peace.
Katherine Spencer is a program assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
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The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.
The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.
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Image: President Donald Trump leaves the White House and walks towards Marine One, just hours after a tense meeting with Zelenskyy. (Photo by Joshua Sukoff/Medill News Service/Sipa USA)