Russia-Ukraine war: How the US stance has shifted over the last 4 years

Four years ago, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jolted Europe into a new era of insecurity. The scenes of Russian tanks rolling toward Kyiv and missiles striking Ukrainian cities seemed to revive ghosts many thought were buried with the Cold War. Joe Biden called it a “brutal assault… without provocation, without justification, without necessity.” Biden framed the conflict as a contest between democracy and tyranny.

For much of his presidency, Washington’s position was unequivocal. America supplied over $100 billion in aid and shipped its aging weaponry eastward. The military aid, including Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, was initially meant to be used as a scare tactic rather than for its use in battle. 

However, with Russia persisting, the U.S. loosened its restrictions, letting Ukraine use American weaponry to attack only in areas close to the border. With hindsight from previous administrations’ foreign policy interference, Biden did not want to fight Russia directly but did not want them to succeed. He wanted to ensure Ukraine did not lose, rather than win. 

Diplomacy with Moscow froze, save for a prisoner swap and a solitary, ill-fated round of talks in Turkey. Biden’s approach was heavy on principle, lighter on flexibility. “Peace,” he said, “will come on Ukraine’s terms.”

That doctrine did not survive its author. Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office brought a rapid, abrasive recalibration. For Trump, the war was not a moral struggle but a costly nuisance. Within weeks he questioned Kyiv’s decisions, lamented America’s “blank checks,” and flirted with the Kremlin’s narrative that Ukraine had provoked its fate. 

His meeting with Russian officials in Riyadh in early 2025 was followed by a jaw-dropping public spat with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, with Trump’s second-in-command, JD Vance, scalding the Ukrainian president in front of the media like a mother reprimanding her toddler. This meeting ended with the suspension of U.S. aid, later reinstated only under duress. It is worth noting, however, that the Trump administration is yet to sanction new aid to Ukraine, with the country still feeding off Biden’s earlier packages.

Trump spent his 2024 election campaign boasting that he could “end the war in 24 hours.” Yet his attempts at shuttle diplomacy, an unremarkable summit in Geneva last week included, have produced no breakthroughs. 

The distance between the two parties – notably Ukraine’s NATO accession, the size of its army, and sovereignty over eastern Ukraine – remains the same as it was when he was inaugurated for the second time. 

His tone toward President Putin oscillates between exasperation and nostalgia: “I’m disappointed with Vladimir. We had a good relationship… I don’t know why he continues with this war,” he mused last year. The Kremlin, sensing America’s ambivalence, appears content to play the waiting game.

Meanwhile, Ukraine grinds on, short on equipment and long on resilience. Europe, fretful of instability and fatigue in Washington, has inched toward greater self-reliance. However, it still remains dependent on the American security umbrella it no longer fully trusts. 

Biden’s foreign policy prioritized unity and deterrence, whereas Trump’s version prizes performative visibility and dealmaking. Neither, so far, has brought peace. 

But for Trump, his decision, or lack thereof, will mark his legacy. With midterms looming and indecision over Iran shaping the public perception, polling among both Democrats and Republicans remains fervently in Ukraine’s favor. 

Trump spent the first year of his presidency angling for a Nobel Peace Prize. Once he realized that was out of his grasp, he pivoted – telling the Norwegian Prime Minister, “I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the U.S.” Regardless of whether he thinks that picking a side or taking a step back will be better for the U.S., for the sake of his reputation as a global leader, he must pick one.

Four years after the first missiles fell, the war’s front lines have barely changed, but America’s stance has shifted profoundly. What began as a defense of principles has devolved into an exercise in negotiation theater. If the Biden years gave Ukraine resolve, the Trump era has given it uncertainty. 

But four years on, regardless of the American position, the end of the conflict remains as elusive as it did on the morning of February 24th, 2022.