However, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement late Monday that, at Trump's direction, the Department of Defense "is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops."

The stiff geopolitical tests just keep on coming for the president. With lingering and devastating tensions still simmering in the Middle East, President Donald Trump has once again set his sights on the other major geopolitical conflict somehow involving American resources.