German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul believes that Chancellor Friedrich Merz played a major role in shifting US President Donald Trump's position regarding Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. Source: Wadephul in an interview with Bild,

New developments Tuesday reinforced the idea that President Donald Trump has significantly shifted his view of the Ukraine war.

If Trump now permits a substantial amount of U.S. weapons to continue to flow to Ukraine, that would mark an important change. Since Trump took office, many in Ukraine and European capitals have thought that might well be the best-case scenario for Ukraine, given the U.S. president's clear hostility to continuing U.S. donations.