However, Trump has been tough on Russia in the past. In 2019, he approved anti-tank missile sales to Ukraine. He also withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty blaming Russian violations. And he issued economic sanctions against a Russian ship involved inbuilding the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Russia’s army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.