Trump’s decision to help Ukraine fight an onslaught of Russian attacks reverses a Pentagon decision to withhold defensive weapons.

The Russian leader is convinced that Moscow’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months, according to people close to the Kremlin.

An audio recording from 2024 run by CNN in which Trump said he had threatened Putin with bombing Moscow if he entered Ukraine, plus the U.S. leader's latest criticism, could mean a tougher stance by Washington toward Moscow is on the cards.