This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Yehor Chernev, a member of parliament and head of the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
“Trump has determined who the weak link is in this war, and that is Putin. That is why the conversation with our president was friendly and constructive. Trump needs to end the war in Europe as quickly as possible to free up resources for other priorities. And he is now banking on Ukraine,” Chernev said.
According to him, the shift in the U.S. president’s rhetoric—who, after the meeting, called the talks with Zelensky “very positive” and supported Ukraine’s right to strike Russian oil refineries—is to be expected.
Chernev explained that a combination of factors influenced Trump’s change in position, including the successful actions of Ukrainian forces, problems in Russia’s fuel sector, domestic political factors in the U.S.—particularly the upcoming congressional elections—as well as the results of the U.S. military campaign against Iran.
“Trump has realized that the U.S. is not all-powerful and needs the support of its European allies. And to achieve this, it is necessary to help them resolve the Russian problem,” the lawmaker noted.
Furthermore, in his view, the U.S. president is eager to bring at least one of the two major conflicts—in Europe or the Persian Gulf—to a close as quickly as possible, since they significantly limit the U.S.’s ability to focus on the Indo-Pacific region.
Separately, Chernev drew attention to Trump’s statement regarding his willingness to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture missiles for the Patriot air defense systems.
In his assessment, provided that production processes are launched quickly and there is an uninterrupted supply of critically important components from the U.S.—particularly homing warheads—the first Ukrainian missiles could be ready in about two to three years.
At the same time, he reported that Kyiv had managed to reach agreements on urgent deliveries of anti-ballistic missiles. “Emergency deliveries will include 10–20 missiles each from various countries, drawn from the stocks they are able to allocate. The situation will improve in a few months when the interceptors contracted earlier begin to arrive,” the lawmaker noted.
Commenting on Trump’s statement about “strong pressure” on Putin, Chernev emphasized that the most effective tools of influence remain, first and foremost, increasing military and financial aid to Ukraine, as well as further tightening sanctions against Russia.
According to him, NATO’s decision to allocate 140 billion euros to Ukraine for 2026–2027 and the announced authorization to produce missiles for the Patriot system already constitute a powerful lever of pressure on the Kremlin.
Read also: Trump has very positive view of Ukrainian military — Zelensky“If the U.S. also begins to impose additional sanctions against Russia, it will be a perfect storm for Moscow,” Chernev believes.
At the same time, he expressed the view that the Russian leadership will agree to genuine negotiations only when it is no longer able to continue the war, either militarily or economically.
As reported by Ukrinform, on July 8, a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump took place on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Turkish capital.