US President Donald Trump turned his fire on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, posting on Truth Social, questioning his commitment to end the war in Ukraine and warning that he may be “different”.

“There was no reason for Putin to launch rockets into residential areas, cities and towns in recent days. This makes me think that it may not want to stop the war, just “drags me”, and should be treated differently through banking or secondary sanctions? Too many people die !!! ” The US president wrote.

Is US attitude changed?

Negotiations on ceasefire and peace in the Russia-Ukraine war are at a critical stage, with the United States, the key mediator threatening to withdraw if there is no progress soon.

Trump has previously criticized Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski for delaying an agreement, but has rarely been criticized by Putin.

The question that remains is whether this change is a real threat to Putin or is a tactic move to reassure Zelenski and his European allies.

Trump’s statements on Saturday came after his criticism of the Russian leader on Thursday, on the occasion of civilian attacks in Ukraine.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, shortly after his presence at the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Donald Trump implied that he was changing an attitude towards Vladimir Putin.

However, as Telegraph says in its analysis, it is a post on social media and not an official political announcement. Thus, the threats to sanctions against Russia, which could financially hurt both Moscow and the countries that deal with it, should only be evaluated when they are implemented in practice.

Also, Trump’s controversial statements were made at the end of a long post, attacked by the New York Times, accused former Presidents Obama and Biden for the War in Ukraine, which he described as “lost from day one”.

At the same time, it is not known what was discussed privately, either during Trump’s meeting with Volodimir Zelenski in Rome or in the talks of American envoy Steve Whitkov with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Causes of tone change

The change in Trump’s language is remarkable, as he had recently avoided criticizing Putin, while in his peace proposals he required more concessions from Ukraine than from Russia.

Possible reasons for this conversion include Whitkov’s possible disappointment of negotiations in Moscow or the influence of Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, a traditional Republican on foreign policy issues.

Putin

It is also possible for the individual meeting with Zelenski at the Marble Temple of St. Peter’s Basilica to contribute to the change of attitude, and in this direction the influence may also be led by European leaders such as Kir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.

After all, the climate of recent weeks has been favorable. Russia is stuck with proposals for ceasefire, citing “details” and “evaluations”, while air raids in Ukrainian cities have exposed the US. After the mass attack on Kiev, which caused the deaths of 12 people, Trump publicly wrote “Vladimir, Stop.”

Should the Kremlin worry?

Regardless of the motives for the change of tone, this development should raise concern in the Kremlin. Despite Trump’s previous hostility to NATO and the threat of interruption of aid to Ukraine, cooler Russian officials have long pointed out that Trump is not a predictable ally.

As with the example of the New York Times, despite Trump’s friendly mood to Putin, it should not be overlooked that he can explode if he feels cheated. Some fear that if he considers that Moscow “fools him”, he could throw all the burden of US power in favor of Ukraine and even more intensive than any previous effort.

At the moment, however, the situation remains fluid.

If Trump really wishes to put pressure on Putin, he could immediately proceed with the validation of banking and secondary penalties instead of limiting threats to social media.