A senior Trump administration official said that to end the war, Kyiv would likely have to accept a peace agreement largely on Moscow's terms. This is reported by UNN with reference to Politico.
He (Trump – ed.) has long believed that Russia has the upper hand in the war itself and needs to be persuaded to peace talks. Ukraine, on the other hand, largely depends on the US for weapons and intelligence. So there are more pressure points to make them agree to a deal.
This was the point of Trump's cryptic social media post on Thursday, in which he claimed: "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking the invading country... There is no chance of winning!"
According to a senior administration official, "Trump did not warn Putin that he would consider arming Ukraine if peace talks failed, but explained Ukraine's lack of leverage in negotiations by blaming his predecessor."
Trump criticized Joe Biden's approach to the war in Ukraine, stating that the previous administration "did not allow Ukraine to fight back, only to defend itself," and emphasized that such a strategy proved to be a failure. At the same time, according to a senior official from his team, Trump is convinced that the war can only be ended through an agreement concluded mostly on Russia's terms.
In a private conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, accidentally caught on microphone, Trump said that Putin allegedly "wants to make a deal for him." However, the Kremlin does not confirm this; on the contrary, Moscow is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine. On Thursday night, one of the largest attacks since the beginning of the war took place: more than 570 drones hit western regions, including an American electronics factory.
France openly stated: the escalation of attacks indicates that Russia has no intention of conducting serious peace negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a similar opinion. He emphasized that the Kremlin avoids meetings and does not seek to end the war. At the same time, Zelenskyy drew attention to Trump's posts, noting that pressure on Moscow is necessary, because "Putin understands nothing but force."
Addition
Despite his disappointment with Putin's behavior, Trump is not in a hurry to impose new sanctions, considering them an insufficient tool. Washington claims that Lavrov's public statements about the "deadlock of negotiations" do not always coincide with behind-the-scenes conversations, but the Russian minister also left no illusions: he considers security guarantees for Ukraine without Moscow's participation unrealistic.
At the same time, Trump himself distances himself from the war, placing the financial burden of future security guarantees on European allies. This causes alarm in Europe: allies fear that if the process does not move quickly, Trump will lose interest. However, his reputation as a "dealmaker" gives a chance that he will not leave the negotiations until he gets a result.
Analysts summarize: Trump is beginning to realize that the conflict turned out to be much more complex than he imagined, and Putin is not ready to concede even for a peace agreement beneficial to the United States.
Recall
Earlier, UNN wrote that Donald Trump expressed doubt about the cooperation between Zelenskyy and Putin due to their obvious disagreements. He seeks to stop the war, where weekly losses amount to 7,000 people.