President Trump is now supporting a plan to send advanced weapons — including Patriot missiles — to NATO for delivery to Ukraine, marking a dramatic reversal after months of uncertainty about U.S. support.

Trump's moves underline his growing disenchantment with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress in U.S.-led efforts to secure a ceasefire.

Donald Trump privately urged Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, if supplied with advanced US weapons, signalling a pivotal policy shift in the war and raising stakes for Nato and Kremlin escalation.

For a fleeting moment, Ukraine’s conflict may have come full circle. In the past 48 hours, US President Donald Trump has perhaps said his most forcefully direct words yet on arming Ukraine. And in the same period,

Trump said the U.S. would send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, with European allies paying for and distributing them.

The change in Trump’s approach may also mean that the $US8 billion (£6 billion) of frozen Russian assets in the US (and US$223 billion in Europe) could be released to aid Ukraine, which would provide a ready means to pay for the US arms transfers.

President Donald Trump’s new weapons deal and his increasing criticism of Vladimir Putin have sparked fear among some Russians that Putin could overplay his hand.

While the US president's shift in tone on both Ukraine and Russia is huge, we need to remember that he can let deadlines slip and flip-flop repeatedly, writes Sky's Mark Stone.