Trump’s decision to allow weapon sales to Ukraine culminated a five-month effort by allies to help Volodymyr Zelensky rebuild a relationship with the president.

By Gram Slattery, Mike Stone, Jonathan Landay and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons,

Former Ukraine aid critics now back Trump's strategy requiring European funding for weapons to Kyiv after the president pivoted his frustration from Zelenskyy to Putin.

In response, 65 percent of Trump voters backed the provision of arms to Ukraine, almost three times the 22 percent who opposed the move. The results suggest a shift in attitudes among Trump supporters toward aid for Ukraine over the past six months.

The Kremlin said on Friday that it did not believe that a tougher stance U.S. President Donald Trump has adopted towards Russia over its war in Ukraine means the end of U.S-Russia talks aimed at reviving their battered ties.

Though Trump's decision was welcomed by leaders in Kyiv, Ukrainians and their supporters abroad also raised concerns that the 50-day window may offer Russian President Vladimir Putin an opportunity to intensify his long-range strikes against Ukrainian cities and ongoing summer frontline offensive.

"He's come to the same conclusion as all of us, he's playing us," one European official said of President Donald Trump's new take on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Instructors trained groups of recruits in Ukraine's Kyiv region on Wednesday, as the country awaits promised U.S. military aid to help in its fight against Russia.

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are considering a deal that involves Washington buying battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the U.