Trump’s Russia’s sanctions strategy will work can take “ years ” to end war: expert

The approach of President Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin radically pivoted this month when, for the first time since his return to the White House, he not only confirmed his support for Ukraine in a NATO weapons agreement but published an ultimatum to the chief of Kremlin.

The warning came in a clear message: to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine or to face rigorous international sanctions on its main commodity, sales of oil.

Although the move has been defended by some, it was questioned by others who wonder if it will be enough to dissuade the ambitions of the Putin war in Ukraine. A security expert argues that the plan will work, but it could take years to be effective.

President Trump speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first term. (Reuters / Jorge Silva)

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“I think it will be effective, and he will stick to this strategy. He will continue to push Putin to return to the negotiating table and to negotiate in good faith, not to the negotiation table, to make promises that the Russians do not plan to keep”, Fred Fleitz, who served as assistant assistant to Trump and the chief of staff of the National Security Council during the first term of the president, said Fox News Digital.

“This is something that Trump is not going to tolerate,” added Fleitz. “We will see that these are just the first six months of Trump’s presidency. It can take a few years to solve.”

But Trump campaigned to put an end to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which turned out to be more complicated than it suggested from the campaign track. And Everyone in the Republican Party supported his approach with regard to Europe, notably an ardent supporter of Trump, the representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“We do not want to give or sell weapons to Ukraine or be involved in foreign wars or continue the endless flow of foreign aid,” said Greene on X. “We want to solve our own problems that torment our own people.”

Flitz underlined Trump’s decision to hit Iran directly and argued that it reflected Trump’s ability to be agitated as a leader.

“He looked at intelligence and realized that he was approaching too much, and he decided to adjust his policy, which was the first diplomacy,” said Fleitz.

“But Trump also clarified something very important. He said to his supporters:” I found a concept of the American national security approach, and I decide what is there, “added Fleitz.” He owns this approach, and he will adapt if necessary. “

President Donald Trump meets NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the NATO summit in Hague, in the Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (Reuters / Brian Snyder)

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Although Trump clearly specified on the campaign campaign that he wanted to see Europe playing a leading role in the war in Ukraine, last week, he countered a major discussion of some within his party, especially Vice-president JD Vance.

Vance plunged against the armament of Ukraine and declared in an editorial last year: “(IT) is not only a question of dollars. Basically, we do not have the capacity to manufacture the quantity of weapons that Ukraine needs us to provide to win the war.”

Trump agreed to sell the best American weapons from NATO countries which will then be provided to Ukraine.

“We want to defend our country. But ultimately, having a strong Europe is a very good thing,” said Trump, sitting alongside NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte.

Security experts have largely argued that the future of Ukraine’s negotiation capacity and, ultimately, from the end of the war, will take place on the battlefield.

On Thursday, John Hardie, deputy director of the FDD Russia program, told American legislators of the Helsinki Commission, also known as the Security and Cooperation Commission in Europe, in a defense briefing that Ukraine must be fueled by long -term strike capacities that can strike the main Russian and drone missile plants.

Ukrainian and German soldiers train on the Patriot air defense missile system in a military training area in Germany in June 2024. (Jens Büttner / Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

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“Ukraine should not be limited simply to bring down” arrows “,” said Hardie. “An optimal approach will combine both the offensive and the defense. Ukraine must be able to strike” archer “and the factories that make” arrows “.

“Putin will continue his war not provoked as long as he believes that he is sustainable and offers a path to achieve his goals,” said Hardie. “By strengthening the defense by Ukraine of its sky and allowing Ukraine to inflict increasing costs on the war machine of Russia, as well as to put pressure on the Russian economy and to exhaust the offensive potential of Russia on the ground, we may be able to change this calculation.”

But Flitz, who is vice-president of the American Security Center of America First Policy Institute, said that he thought that this war would only be put in the end when an armistice agreement would be obtained.

“I think there will probably be an armistice where the two parties will agree to suspend the fights,” said Fleitz. “One day, we will find a line where the two nations will agree to stop fighting.”

In the end, he thinks that this will happen by Ukraine who agrees not to join NATO for a certain period of time, although Moscow understands that kyiv will be strongly armed by Western allies.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian presidential press office, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the right, and President Donald Trump, to talk about the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican on April 26, 2025. (Ukrainian presidential press office via AP)

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“I think there is a way to do so where Russia would not be concerned about the growth of the influence of Western Europe in Ukraine, and Ukraine would not be worried that Russia will invade once a cease-fire or a armistice is declared,” he added. “Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but I think it’s the most realistic way to stop fighting.

“We know that history conflicts like this take time; the restoration of peace takes time,” said Fleitz. “I think that over time, Trump will have an effect on Putin.”