President Trump often appears delusional in his personal interactions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. But the opposite is true of Trump’s Russia policy. Indeed, Trump is far tougher on Putin than President Barack Obama ever was.
We saw this again on Tuesday in the form of $250 in military support to the Ukrainian military and security services. The new supplies bring the total provision of U.S. military support to Ukraine to $1.5 billion since 2014. And they include elements clearly designed to deter and defeat Russian aggression. These include “sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and counter-artillery radars” and “electronic warfare detection.” Those systems will help Ukraine’s military to challenge Russian combat forces in their keystone competencies. The electronic warfare disruption issue is especially important.
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The $250 million also notably entails increased “support for Ukraine’s Navy and Naval infantry.” That’s a countermeasure to escalating Russian aggression against Ukraine’s maritime sovereignty. It also offers the Pentagon an indirectly lethal means of rebuking Russia’s escalating harassment of the U.S. Navy.
So as I say, Trump would be well advised to judge his personal relationship with Putin far more skeptically. But Trump’s policy has been spot-on — proportionate, well-judged, and commensurate with our best ideals.
