Trump's anti-Russia pivot: how it's changing war in Ukraine

In reality, over the past week, two truly important changes have occurred in the war and in its perception by the main actors.

1. Putin did not expect Trump to impose sanctions and believed that he could continue to lead Trump by the nose.

Putin's game consisted of two things: not to fall out with Trump and to buy time.

He won almost nine months. And that is a lot. In the future, he will also try not to bring the level of conflict to a critical point, but his demarche regarding Budapest says one thing: the Rubicon has been crossed. He has entered his own "Afghanistan" with all the corresponding consequences.

2. By imposing sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, Trump has, in essence, embarked on Reagan's path with his fight against the evil empire. The motives are, of course, different (one had ideology, the other a personal offense), but it is impossible to turn back from this path now. Again, with all the corresponding consequences.

Source

About the author: Vadym Denysenko, political scientist.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.