Donald Trump faces grim reality of Russia-Ukraine war
President Donald Trump's frustration at trying to get peace in Ukraine is growing as ending a war that raging over three years continues to throw up difficulties.Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
File photo: Donald Trump, left, greets Volodymyr Zelensky as the latter arrives at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
File photo: Donald Trump, left, greets Volodymyr Zelensky as the latter arrives at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
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Why It MattersPortraying himself as the dealmaker-in-chief, Trump's pledge to end the war quickly has hit some hard realities three months into his term.American shuttle diplomacy in Saudi Arabia last month resulted in a 30-day ceasefire proposal and a deal to stop strikes in the Black Sea but Russian attacks on Ukraine continue apace. The lack of progress on an imminent peace deal will worry Trump but could spur a round of tariffs and other sanctions.What To KnowTrump is not only "pissed off" with Vladimir Putin's questioning of the legitimacy of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, NBC reported, but he is also impatient at what he sees as Moscow's delaying tactics over a ceasefire, according to Fox News.Reuters reported that senior Trump administration officials believe an imminent Ukraine peace deal is unlikely and are planning a new approach to pressure Kyiv and Moscow. This followed talks after which Putin called up the highest number of conscripts since 2011, showing he has no intention of reducing Russia's military ambitions.Trump and his advisers aimed to reach a full ceasefire by April or May and a lasting peace deal, but with neither imminent, they are looking at new plans to pressure both Kyiv and Moscow, Reuters reported.The news agency said Washington was unhappy with how Kyiv is handling negotiations and its resistance to a Ukrainian minerals deal that would pay for American assistance. Trump warned that Zelensky faces "big problems" if he backs out of the rare earths deal.However, Trump's frustration is switching toward Putin for resisting Washington's attempts to strike a lasting peace accord, Reuters noted.Trump had applied more pressure on Zelensky than Putin initially, but the Russian leader's refusal to accept a 30-day ceasefire appears to have changed the U.S. president's attitude, Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Sky News.Fox News also reported that Trump believes Moscow is dragging its feet over comprehensive ceasefire talks and was "frustrated" with Putin.The outlet's senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said that Trump is considering "aggressive sanctions enforcement" targeting Russia's shadow fleet of tankers, which export oil in defiance of Western restrictions.Peter Rough, director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, told Newsweek the Saudi talks showed Kyiv's flexibility but it was Moscow that had slapped down U.S. initiatives and offered one-sided counterproposals instead.Rough said that the U.S. has not yet given up on inducing Russia into a deal, but it "may have to weigh the benefits of stepping up the pressure track to get Moscow to bend toward a compromise.""I think we are now past the opening phase of diplomacy and we're seeing the U.S. begin to contemplate its second- and third-order moves," Rough added.
File photo: Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 1, 2025.
File photo: Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 1, 2025.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia's International Affairs magazine the Kremlin "cannot accept" American proposals and that it has "not heard from Trump a signal to Kyiv to end the war."This comes on the heels of NBC reporting Trump's anger at Putin over questioning Zelensky's legitimacy as leader because he has not held elections due to wartime martial law after his presidential term ended last May.Putin Boosts Conscript NumbersThere is doubt over whether Putin would negotiate ending the war in Ukraine if he thinks he is winning on the battlefield, and his forces continue to make incremental gains in the east of Ukraine.Having earmarked record amounts of government expenditure on the military, Putin's commitment to expanding his armed forces was signaled by Tuesday's announcement of the Russia's highest number of conscripts since 2011—160,000.Moscow says the conscripts will not be sent to Ukraine, but they have reportedly been sent to fight and die in Russia's border regions before. This expansion of Russia's military poses long-term security concerns, which Kyiv's allies will want to be taken into account in peace negotiations.What People Are SayingWhite House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on April 1 that Trump was "frustrated with leaders on both sides' of this war, he wants this war to end."Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "We have not heard from Trump a signal to Kyiv to end the war."Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Trump felt "a combination of impatience and a tad of frustration."Peter Rough, director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, told Newsweek: "I don't think the U.S. has given up on inducing Russia into a deal, but the administration may also have to weigh the benefits of stepping up the pressure track to get Moscow to bend toward a compromise."What Happens NextUkraine has said it is ready to agree to a Black Sea deal, but Russian officials have said Moscow first needs an easing of sanctions. U.S. senators have proposed a new set of sanctions and tariffs of 500 percent on Russian oil and other products, which could put pressure on Putin.
