Shortly before mourners filled Washington National Cathedral for the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday, President Donald Trump received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. Graham, who died suddenly days after returning from his latest visit to Kyiv, had spent his final week negotiating a Russia sanctions package with the White House. By evening, the Senate had voted 86 to 12 to advance the bill now bearing Graham’s name. Zelensky sat watching from the chamber after a closed-door session with senators. The Ukrainian president called his meeting with Trump “good” and thanked Washington for joint efforts to protect Ukrainian lives and bring peace closer. The contrast with February 2025, when the same two men clashed on camera at the White House, was stark.
How did we get here?
For three years, many voices on the MAGA-right treated Ukraine as Europe’s problem and former President Joe Biden’s project: a corrupt and weak client state on the cusp of inevitable defeat. They advocated cutting aid, forcing Kyiv into a quick deal on Moscow’s terms, and courting Putin as a pragmatic partner who could be peeled away from China and Iran. Subsequent events have, however, demolished that illusion.
First, Ukraine has held its ground. In Trump’s world, leverage commands respect, and Kyiv proved it possessed cards after all: an increasingly potent deep-strike capability, the ability to regain parts of territory, and mastery of drone warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin has simultaneously undermined its credibility with the White House. Month after month, the Kremlin pretended that it was willing to negotiate while simultaneously escalating its attacks on Ukraine. The Trump administration no longer has confidence in Russian rhetoric.
The war with Iran played its own part. When American and Israeli forces struck Iran in late February, Moscow showed where it stood. According to reports, Russia has fed Iran satellite imagery and targeting intelligence on American troops, ships, and aircraft. Iranian drones subsequently struck facilities housing U.S. service members, including an attack in Kuwait that killed six Americans. The Economist obtained a secret document showing Russia offered Iran drones resistant to jamming, along with training on employing them against American forces in the Persian Gulf.
Ukraine, by contrast, has behaved as an ally. Ukrainian intelligence flagged Russian assistance to Iran early. On July 25, Ukraine struck cargo ships in the Caspian Sea that Kyiv says were servicing the Russia-to-Iran supply line. Kyiv has offered support to America’s allies in the Persian Gulf with anti-drone technology. It has also clearly stated its opposition to the Iranian regime and in favor of American action. Unlike some of America’s far older partners in Europe, it should be noted.
OPINION: AMERICA LEFT THE BUILDING. UKRAINE TOOK THE WHEEL
Weakening Russia in Ukraine will lead to less power for Moscow to deploy against America. The moral and strategic case for Ukraine is becoming harder to ignore. Indeed, it seems possible that Trump may be slowly coming to an understanding that only by steadily increasing pressure on Russia can Washington persuade Moscow to end the war. In that context, providing Ukraine with weapons and the means to expand its own defense production is essential to build the leverage future diplomacy requires.
Russia, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and China operate as connected fronts of a single challenge to American interests. Helping allies such as Ukraine, which bleeds Russian power, is a fraction of the cost of any alternative. In that light, backing Ukraine is not a charity toward a distant cause but rather a more expansive interpretation of “America First.”