U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ramp up arms shipments to Ukraine is a signal to Kyiv to abandon peace efforts, Russia said on Thursday, vowing it would not accept the "blackmail" of Washington's new sanctions ultimatum.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 70 Ukrainian drones overnight into Tuesday morning. Among the areas targeted was the southwestern Voronezh region, which borders northeastern Ukraine. At least 24 people were injured there, Gov. Aleksandr Gusev said on Telegram.

President Trump has effectively handed Vladimir Putin an extraordinary green light: 50 days to finish off his brutal summer offensive in Ukraine before facing any consequences.

"We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia," President Trump said while in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

This week marked a possible pivot by President Donald Trump regarding Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tinatin Japaridze, an analyst with Eurasia Group, joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss the latest in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Former Ukraine aid critics now back Trump's strategy requiring European funding for weapons to Kyiv after the president pivoted his frustration from Zelenskyy to Putin.

US President Donald Trump is trying again to end the war in Ukraine – not by targeting Russia, but by hitting the countries that buy Russia’s oil.