It remains to be seen just how lasting and severe President Donald Trump’s turn against Vladimir Putin will be. Trump has criticized the Russian president in unprecedented terms in recent days and signaled he’ll send vital weapons to Ukraine.

“Putin will not negotiate as a loser,” one of his longtime associates tells TIME by phone from Moscow. “He knows that winners don’t get punished, and if he wins, all of this” — the sanctions, the tariffs — “will go away.”

President Donald Trump announced this week that the U.S. will send Patriot air-defense missiles to Ukraine and threatened new tariffs on Russia. Will Vladimir Putin back down? What should Trump's next move be? And what does the future hold for Ukraine? Newsweek contributors Daniel R. DePetris and Dan Perry debate:

US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Trump’s peace ultimatum to Vladimir Putin, suggesting it’s too slow. The U.S. president on Monday said he is “very, very unhappy” with Russia and threatened the country with secondary tariffs of up to 100 percent if it does not negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.

President Trump reveals how Russian leader 'talks nice, then bombs everybody' as the U.S. prepares to send Ukraine Patriot missiles under a NATO agreement.

Donald Trump has been growing increasingly angry with Putin ignoring his strict 50-day peace deal – with a senator warning what might come next for Russia if he doesn't step in line