 "In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025.(Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)")
President Donald Trump expressed skepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to end the war in Ukraine, a shift from his comments just a day earlier, when he suggested that Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.”
Trump criticised Putin’s missile strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine, saying that it made him question whether Putin genuinely wanted peace. He proposed a new approach, possibly involving “banking” or “secondary sanctions” to address the ongoing conflict, which has seen increasing casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and were “hoping for results” from a “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic”.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.
The new doubts aired by Trump come as the president and top aides intensify their push to come to a deal to end the war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe comments also sharply contrasted with Trump’s positive assessment that the two sides were “very close to a deal” after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met with Putin in Moscow on Friday.
The Trump-Zelenskyy conversation on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral was the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February. That confrontation led to the White House to briefly pause U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Blame game
Trump, while calling on Putin to stop Russia’s attacks, has recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed. He has pushed Zelenskyy to accept concessions such as acknowledging that Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, will remain in Russian hands under any deal to stop the conflict.
After arriving in Rome, Trump said there had been progress in talks and pushed for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to meet.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
“Most of the major points are agreed to,” he said.
Putin on Friday discussed the “possibility” of direct talks with Ukraine in a meeting with Witkoff, according to a Kremlin aide.
He told Witkoff that Russia is ready to resume talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”, the Kremlin added Saturday.
The Putin-Witkoff came just after a top Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow.
An increasingly frustrated Trump last week threatened to walk away from peace efforts if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire.
With inputs from agencies