Donald Trump shows the way forward against warmonger Putin - allies must follow

US President Donald Trump has once again surprised his allies and changed his agenda on the Russo-Ukraine war. Not so long ago he was signalling that President Zelensky was going to have to make compromises and settle with Putin, allowing him to retain the territory the Russians have illegally occupied; now Trump is saying that Kyiv can "win all of Ukraine back in its original form". That is a significant volte face in both his view and in American foreign policy, even if it is not clear whether he includes Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia back in 2014, in the equation.

What has caused this major change? I think it is probably the slow realisation that in all their phone calls and meetings he has been duped by Putin, and he obviously doesn't like that. But it is true; in his dealings with Trump Putin has promised much and delivered nothing, and now the US President has had enough. He is now very much on Kyiv and Zelensky's side.

What this might mean in practical terms is harder to gauge. Up until now the USA has been parsimonious in its support for Ukraine, supplying just enough finance and equipment to ensure it doesn't lose, but never sufficient to allow it to win. Whether the flood gates of American aid will now open remains to be seen.

However, for Zelensky it's an encouraging development in his long, hard war. With Russia controlling roughly 20% of Ukraine's sovereign territory and some three million Ukrainians under Russian occupation, he and his country need all the help they can get. Trump's statement of intent will be most welcome.

It will probably also encourage les autres, those European NATO allies who have been hitherto timid and grudging in their assistance to Kyiv.

Now that the big player across the Atlantic has shown his hand they will probably fall in line, with one or two outliers and exceptions.

Winning back all of Ukraine, to use Trump's phrase again, is not going to prove an easy task, US support or not. Recent expert observers have suggested that the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces have reached a state of parity on the battlefield, with neither side strong enough to impose its will on the other.

There is in effect a 20 kilometre "dead zone" on either side of the front line, where the proliferation of armed drones has made movement too risky for large formations, even at night.

Hence we have the static trench warfare reminiscent of the Great War, with advances measured in hundreds of yards and casualties in tens of thousands.

A large part of the reason for this ongoing stalemate is that neither side has been able to establish air superiority, not even for a limited period in time and space.

The counter-air systems fielded by both sides are too effective, and the means to suppress them are too few and in short supply.

Without control of the skies it is not possible - except at the risk of huge casualties - to carry out the sweeping armoured formation manoeuvres that might deliver a telling blow to the enemy and liberate captured territory.

So the antagonists sit in their thinly-held trenches - the front line stretches for over 1,000 kilometres - and pummel each other with artillery and drone strikes, with the occasional local attack to capture a few more square yards of ground.

It will continue like this until one side builds up its strength sufficient to deliver a killer blow and sweep away the opposition. The conflict in Ukraine has reminded us yet again that in war you need "lots of stuff".

A few, exquisite, state-of-the-art equipments may look good on paper but inevitably you will lose them. Cheaper models in greater numbers are preferable, in my opinion.

That's why I think Trump's new call for Kyiv to take back its lost territory has to be backed up with practical assistance - funds, supplies, equipment - in large numbers. And Europe has to play its part too.

The US President has now deemed Putin's Russia as the enemy, and not before time many might say. His words now have to be backed up with the appropriate action, and allies have to follow suit.

I have often been critical of Trump in the past, but here I think he is showing the way. Slava Ukraini!

Lt Col Stuart Crawford is a political and defence commentator and former army officer. Sign up for his podcasts and newsletters at www.DefenceReview.uk