For the first time ever, the Trump Administration has approved the direct sale of lethal weapons to the Ukrainian government, expanding on previous sales which had long been restricted purely to non-lethal and defensive systems.

Congress has been pushing for such sales since 2014, as part of a general trend to pick fights with Russia. The Obama Administration resisted such a move, however, because such arms sales would see the US as directly in opposition to the EU-backed Minsk ceasefire for Eastern Ukraine.

Officials say that President Trump didn’t approve everything which was requested by the Ukrainian government, though Congressional officials still warn this is a major step toward confrontation in Ukraine, and predict that more sales will be coming in the future.

Analysts see the most telling aspect of the move as the fact that the administration never “announced” the deal publicly, simply quietly informing Congress about the matter. They appear to at least understand that this move is potentially very provocative internationally, and are taking what is for President Trump a very unusual step in not loudly bragging about their most provocative acts.