Trump boasted of cutting off all financial support for Ukraine and tried to force a capitulation on terms which many consider favorable to Russia. Now leading American experts reveal how Ukraine found the cards to win the fight with Russia without the help of United States.
Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale University argues in an analysis that, as he predicted two years ago, Ukraine has proven that it does not need the support of the Trump administration. Just 15 months ago, in the Oval Office, Trump yelled at the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky: “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards now. With us, start having the cards,” according to Time.
Zelenski shot back: “I’m not playing cards. I’m very serious, Mr. President. I’m very serious… Of course, we want to stop the war. But I told you, with guarantees.” Over the past year, it appears that Zelenskiy’s judgment was correct. Ukraine has found some winning cards, both with its ingenuity in drone technology and the Russian president’s faltering economy Vladimir Putindespite higher oil and gas prices and the unwise relaxation of energy sanctions imposed on Russia by USwhich provided Moscow with temporary relief.
On the battlefield, drones have been useful to Ukraine in three ways, explains Professor Sonnefeld, along with his colleagues William B. Taylor, former US ambassador to Ukraine, Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of the NSA, and Steven Tian, director of the Yale Institute. First, they are effective at striking deep into Russia, penetrating supply lines, energy infrastructure, and munitions factories; second, it saves Ukrainian lives by reducing at-risk military personnel; and third, it shakes Russia’s arrogance and confidence.
Some question whether this is a sustainable advantage as Russia seeks to regain lost ground, but senior sources in the Biden and Trump administrations tell us that Ukrainian drone and anti-drone defense technology relies heavily, in part, on unmatched American technology that Russia does not have access to, such as Silvus infrastructure-less solutions from Motorolawhich are used by Ukraine to operate its drones. All this suggests that Ukraine’s technological, innovation and cost advantages are sustainable. In fact, the US has been reported to have funneled billions of dollars in direct investment into Ukraine’s drone industry during both the Biden and Trump years.
It’s hard to overstate how transformative drones have been for Ukraine’s position on the battlefield. First, with these powerful drones designed and manufactured in Ukraine, it is now systematically attacking high-value military and industrial targets located more than 1,000 kilometers inside the Russian Federation, wreaking havoc on the logistics and supply chains supporting the invasion.
Recent operations have successfully targeted air bases in Voronezh and carried out precision strikes on the VNIIR-Progress plant in Ceboksari – a facility nearly 1,000 kilometers from the border that produces vital electronic components for Russia’s Su-34 fighter jets and S-300 air defense systems.
Ukraine defeats Russia, like David defeated Goliath
In addition, through methodical attacks on platforms Lukoil off the Caspian Sea and major refineries in Saratov, as well as through repeated bombing of the Tuapse oil export terminal on the Black Sea, Ukraine is physically dismantling the energy infrastructure that funds the Kremlin’s war effort. Indeed, these drones have allowed Ukraine to circumvent misguided restrictions imposed by both the Biden and Trump administrations on the use of Western missiles to strike deep into Russia.
Second, Ukrainian drone strikes destroy crucial logistics chains in Russian-occupied territory, while sparing Ukrainian lives and precious military personnel, the technology allowing Ukrainian counterattacks to liberate these regions. Ukraine recently liberated more than 400 square kilometers in the southern theater of operations and recaptured significant sectors near Kupyansk.
Third, Ukrainian drone strikes are catalyzing deep morale problems in Russia, methodically shattering the illusion of internal security cultivated by the Kremlin as the Kremlin tightens its grip on society, including by suspending popular messaging apps like Telegram.
As we previously revealed, for years Putin has hidden how weak the Russian economy is by hiding and falsifying numbers. Putin refuses to disclose major economic indicators as requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, there is no doubt that oil and gas prices, as well as accelerating Russian oil sales, have helped Putin emerge from what would otherwise have been imminent bankruptcy this year, as forecasts for GDP growth rise from recession and economic contraction in the first quarter of 2026.
According to the biblical account, Goliath was a giant who terrorized Israel and the entire army of King Saul. David, though much shorter than Goliath, refused the support of King Saul’s heavy armor. He advanced toward the challenging giant Goliath with only his shepherd’s staff, a leather sling, and five smooth stones. David killed Goliath by hitting him in the forehead with a stone from a sling. With Russia 28 times the size of Ukraine, but about 60% covered in unspeakable permafrost and nowhere near an economic superpower, we could be witnessing a modern remake of this biblical saga. Even more impressive is the fact that David has overcome so many obstacles to get to this point.
Retired Lt. Gen. and former U.S. Ambassador to natoDoug Lute, concluded the 1,550 Days of War: “The US, especially under Trump, but to some extent under Biden, pushed David into the fight against Goliath with one hand tied behind his back and contributed to the fact that David had to continue the unjust fight for over four years.”
