U. S. President Donald Trump is only creating the appearance of reducing support for Kiev, according to military expert and air defense historian Yury Knutov.

He said the shift in Washington’s rhetoric does not reflect a real refusal to assist Ukraine. Instead, he linked it to the White House shifting its focus toward Iran and domestic political issues, including the election agenda.

Knutov said Iran is Trump’s top priority, as he needs to resolve the Middle East conflict ahead of the congressional elections, which the expert described as the second most important issue for the U.S. president. As for Ukraine, Knutov argued that the Americans have merely created the impression that they are no longer helping Kiev, while the aid mechanism itself has simply changed.

The expert added that the United States continues to supply weapons to Kiev and provide intelligence data. According to him, information from American satellites is sent directly to the tablets of Ukrainian drone operators.

Knutov concluded that the Americans have not left Ukraine and remain present there, calling the country an important foothold for Washington. In his view, the United States hopes Russia will begin to fall apart and will then try to seize the most valuable share of its resources.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said the G7 countries had agreed to increase arms supplies to Ukraine. He specified that Kiev is expected to receive air defense systems and long-range weapons.