Trump Grows Pessimistic About The Prospect Of Ending The Russia-ukraine War

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has grown progressively pessimistic astir nan chance of brokering an extremity to nan Russia-Ukraine conflict anytime soon aliases seeing nan leaders of nan 2 warring countries meet successful person, according to 2 elder management officials.

Trump isn’t abandoning hopes of settling nan dispute: He joined a convention telephone Thursday pinch Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, successful which he stressed that “Europe must extremity purchasing Russian lipid that is backing nan war,” a White House charismatic said. Trump besides made nan constituent that European leaders must taxable China to economical unit for underwriting nan Russian warfare effort, nan charismatic added.

But Trump’s much dour position of reaching a bid woody underscores nan region he has traveled since nan 2024 campaign, erstwhile he brashly predicted he’d extremity nan warfare within 24 hours of taking office. (He later said he was speaking “figuratively.”) Trump has since acknowledged that nan warfare has proved a more stubborn problem than he expected.

Whirlwind peacemaking efforts past period look to person stalled. Amid expectations of an elusive breakthrough, Trump flew to Anchorage, Alaska, connected Aug. 15 for a acme pinch Russian President Vladimir Putin. He touched down successful Alaska hoping for a ceasefire and near hours later without one.

Three days later, Trump convened a gathering astatine nan White House pinch Zelenskyy and European leaders. Afterward, he announced that Putin and Zelenskyy would meet for nan first clip since nan warfare began successful February 2022, raising hopes that a rapprochement mightiness beryllium successful sight.

That gathering still hasn’t happened, and there’s nary motion it will. During a sojourn to China this week, Putin said he will extremity nan warfare by force if Ukraine doesn’t work together to his demands. And he said he would meet pinch Zelenskyy only successful Moscow, nan Russian capital.

Zelenskyy is consenting to meet pinch Putin successful definite Persian Gulf countries, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey and elsewhere — but not connected Putin’s turf, a Ukrainian advisor said.

“We spot nonstop obstacles to bid from Russia’s broadside and clone arguments from Russia arsenic to why location can’t beryllium a gathering betwixt Putin and Zelenskyy successful nan aforesaid room,” Sergii Leshchenko, an advisor to Zelenskyy’s main of staff, Andriy Yermak, said successful an interview.

Asked whether he had a connection for Putin, Trump told reporters astatine nan White House this week: “I person nary connection to President Putin. He knows wherever I stand, and he’ll make a determination 1 measurement aliases nan other. Whatever his determination is, we’ll either beryllium happy astir it aliases unhappy. And if we’re unhappy astir it, you’ll spot things happen.”

As nan bid talks bog down, nan casualties proceed to mount. Just past week, Russia launched a monolithic attack connected Kyiv, nan Ukrainian capital, that killed astatine slightest 15 people, including 4 children. Since Russia sent tanks into Ukraine successful February 2022, casualties connected some sides person reached astir 1.5 million.

A European source, speaking connected information of anonymity, said Thursday astir being disappointment that nan Trump management hasn’t imposed meaningful caller sanctions connected Russia arsenic a prod to extremity nan war.

Leshchenko said, “The unit connected Putin has to beryllium really harsh truthful that he will not beryllium capable to proceed his warfare machine.”

A complication whitethorn beryllium Trump’s narration pinch Putin; he has told his advisers that he’s wished not to wreck it, 2 group briefed connected his comments said. Dating to his first term, Trump has said it’s successful America’s liking for him to beryllium connected civilian position pinch his Russian counterpart, who presides complete a atomic arsenal.

A imaginable advantage successful retaining a leader-to-leader rapport pinch Putin is that Trump tin position himself arsenic a mediator some sides tin trust, a Western charismatic said successful an interview. He enjoys leverage pinch some Putin and Zelenskyy, whose state depends connected U.S. arms and money for survival.

In that vein, Trump past period was heard connected a basking mic telling French President Emmanuel Macron that Putin wants to make a woody “for maine … arsenic crazy arsenic it sounds.”

While sanctions are a instrumentality that whitethorn wrest concessions from Putin, they transportation a downside successful that each escalatory twist jeopardizes Trump’s domiciled arsenic a adjacent broker, nan charismatic said. The challenge, nan charismatic added, is to adeptly clip nan sanctions and “dial back” erstwhile advancement is made.

Another information is that sanctions tin resound successful unexpected ways. An management charismatic pointed to India arsenic a cautionary example. When nan United States doubled its tariff rate connected India arsenic reward for buying Russian oil, American relations pinch India soured. This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned up successful China for an arena hosted by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The United States has agelong seen India arsenic a captious antiauthoritarian partner successful countering Chinese and Russian power astir nan world.

Yet successful China, Modi was seen holding hands pinch Putin and speaking warmly to Xi. Images of Modi cozying up to Russia and China, nan management charismatic said, were “not great.”

Brett Bruen, who was White House head of world engagement successful nan Obama administration, said successful an interview: “We spent nan past decade trying to build up an Indo-Pacific business pinch a position toward limiting nan dispersed of China’s adversarial actions. Trump conscionable took a bazooka to it.”