SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
President Trump is changing his tone.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The president has endorsed a new way to provide weapons to Ukraine. Americans come up with the military hardware and NATO allies in Europe pay for it. Trump also made a warning of future penalties for Russia if they don't make the peace deal that Trump once promised to make on his first day in office.
MCCAMMON: Joining us now to talk about it is NPR's Charles Maynes, who's on the line from Moscow. Hi, Charles.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Good morning, Sarah.
MCCAMMON: So let's dig in a bit on Trump's announcement from yesterday. What did he have to say?
MAYNES: Well, the headline was one that Trump telegraphed in advance - that the U.S. had reached a deal to sell billions of dollars in weapons to NATO member countries in Europe, who would then provide those arms to Ukraine at no expense to U.S. taxpayers. That includes, but may not be limited to, Patriot missile systems to help Ukraine defend against this recent spate of drone and missile attacks by Russia. Also intriguing here was a threat by Trump to impose biting secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries trading with Russia - really, we're talking energy exports - but with a caveat. Trump gave a 50-day grace period until early September for Moscow to come around to a peace deal.
MCCAMMON: And that's quite a shift from Trump's approach these past few months, when he's been openly critical of Ukraine, you know, even blaming Kyiv for provoking Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a big change, isn't it?
MAYNES: It is, and all the more so because Trump spoke in glowing terms about Ukraine and its bravery and resilience in the face of Russian attacks. But driving this clearly is frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump addressed in strikingly personal terms.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: My conversations with him are always very pleasant. I say, isn't that a very lovely conversation? And then the missiles go off that night. I go home. I tell the first lady, you know, I spoke with Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. She said, oh, really? Another city was just hit.
MAYNES: So there's almost a sense of betrayal here. You know, Trump said he thought he had a peace deal with Putin on four separate occasions, only to see the Russian attacks continue.
MCCAMMON: And what is the reaction in Moscow?
MAYNES: Well, the Kremlin has painted these U.S. arms deliveries now via NATO as Biden-era policies rebranded. You know, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was quick to point out that the U.S. military aid to Ukraine had, in fact, never ended. We also heard from the Kremlin's point man for negotiations with the U.S., Kirill Dmitriev, who said pressure on Moscow was doomed to fail but insisted dialogue with the U.S. continue. And in fact, some saw this 50-day grace period as a sign Trump isn't ready to give up on Russia. You know, Moscow's main market index jumped several percentage points upon hearing the news. And so there are these fair questions about Trump's commitment to sanctions. He certainly has backed away from threats to impose them before.
MCCAMMON: This obviously would seem like welcome news for Ukraine. I mean, what are you hearing in terms of reaction there?
MAYNES: Yeah, exactly. You know, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was in a good mood yesterday. These U.S. missile defense systems are something he's desperately wanted. But the delayed sanction issue is trickier, as Solomiia Bobrovska, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament's Defense and Security Committee, explained to NPR.
SOLOMIIA BOBROVSKA: Fifty days is too long. And so many things can be changed on the front line, in capital. It's because Russia always feels itself stronger. And, like, come on. Fifty days? It will be September. No one can predict how Trump can act in these 50 days.
MAYNES: You know, and I have to say, Sarah, that nationalists in Russia are already portraying this 50-day deadline, this kind of grace period, as a challenge - really a race to victory or at least a chance to grab as much territory as possible.
MCCAMMON: That's NPR's Charles Maynes in Moscow. Thanks, Charles.
MAYNES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
