US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

Last week, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, the largest barrage of war, which began in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Kremlin was "making a point" with the attack, which appeared to be aimed at destroying Ukraine's supply of Western weapons.

After President Donald Trump threatened to impose "very severe" economic penalties against Vladimir Putin's Russia if he doesn't agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine within 50 days, the Trump administration has so far declined to provide many additional details about the consequences Russia will face or why he picked the deadline he chose.