Is Trump giving up on Ukraine-Russia peace?

White House says president is 'weary and frustrated' with conflict

Photo composite illustration of Donald Trump walking away from a map of Ukraine place names and anti-tank hedgehogs
It was 'always a possibility' that Trump would back out of the peace process
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

President Donald Trump once promised to end the Russo-Ukrainian war within 24 hours of taking office. Instead, the war drags on. And now the president is sending mixed signals, suggesting he will abandon ceasefire negotiations even as he ratchets up rhetoric against Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Trump said Putin is acting "absolutely crazy" after Russia launched a new round of deadly drone and missile attacks against Ukraine over the weekend, said the BBC. The attacks are "needlessly killing a lot of people," Trump said on Truth Social. But the violence came amid increasing signs that Trump is ready to "walk away" from peace efforts, said The New York Times. After a phone call with Putin last week, Trump said on social media that any peace agreement "will be negotiated between the two parties" instead of through an American-led process. Trump has "grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict," said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The president's new position is that the war is "not my problem," said the Times.

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Joel Mathis, The Week US

Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.