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.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are considering a deal that involves Washington buying battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing weapons from the US.The Ukrainian president said his latest talks with Mr Trump focused on a deal that would help each country bolster its aerial technology.

To appreciate the dramatic shift in President Donald Trump’s policy towards Ukraine, consider two scenes in the Oval Office, months apart:

With his announcement to supply Ukraine with weapons worth up to $10 billion, President Donald Trump has effectively reversed his administration’s official policy on the NATO war against Russia. The new deliveries include, among other things, Patriot air defence systems and long-range missiles capable of reaching major Russian cities.

President Donald Trump is downplaying the possibility of sending Ukraine long-range weapons as Kyiv awaits an injection of U.S. weaponry that it hopes will help it beat back an intensifying Russian air offensive.

Russia launched four missiles and 136 drones into Ukraine overnight into Monday morning, according to Ukraine's air force.

The latest bombardment in Russia’s escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a Sept. 2 deadline set by President Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war,

Pentagon officials said details were still being worked out, and experts doubted Mr. Trump’s threat of huge tariffs for Russian trading partners.