President Donald Trump stated that Russian President had “truly” disappointed him concerning the stalled initiatives aimed at finding a peace path between Russia and Ukraine.
During a press conference with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Trump confessed that resolving the conflict, which commenced when , proved more difficult than he had foreseen. [Trump had initially pledged to conclude the Russia-Ukraine war on “” of his second term.]
“The situation I believed would be the simplest, due to my rapport with President Putin [was] Russia and Ukraine… But he has disappointed me. He has genuinely let me down,” Trump declared on Thursday during his second state visit to the U.K., where he signed a
“He is causing numerous casualties, and his forces are sustaining greater losses… frankly, Russian soldiers are dying at a higher rate than Ukrainian soldiers,” Trump remarked concerning Putin’s involvement in the war.
In August, Trump went to Alaska for a “crucial” summit with Putin, marking their first physical meeting since 2019. The gathering was meant to encourage talks about a potential cease-fire, but it concluded ahead of schedule and . Afterward, Trump and Putin offered only short statements to reporters, neither responding to inquiries.
Subsequently, Trump has issued multiple pledges to intensify sanctions on Russia, particularly as the nation has persisted with aggressive airstrikes, including those that struck a portion of the Ukrainian government’s offices earlier this month. The by stating that Western-imposed sanctions on Russia have “no impact.”
Nonetheless, Trump recently withdrew from his earlier threat, asserting that when all NATO countries cease oil purchases from Russia and impose tariffs on China.
On Thursday, questioned about the current state of sanctions against Russia, Trump cited recent tariffs he had levied on India for purchasing oil from Moscow, alongside China for its backing of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
“I am prepared to undertake additional measures, but not when the nations I am advocating for are acquiring oil from Russia,” Trump stated, further expressing his “disappointment” that certain European countries maintained their importation of Russian oil.
Starmer, a steadfast supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, implored Trump to escalate his pressure on Putin.
“While we discuss potential events after a cease-fire, we must remember that Ukraine requires our assistance *at this moment*,” Starmer commented. “We have affirmed our commitment to stand with Ukraine from inception to conclusion, which implies we must continue to furnish them with the necessary provisions for combat.”
“Today, we explored methods to further strengthen our defenses to aid Ukraine, and to significantly intensify pressure on Putin to prompt him to agree to a durable peace accord,” Starmer further mentioned.
“We are supplying numerous weapons to NATO. NATO is fully funding these weapons, but we are dispatching them,” Trump appended, commending the U.K.’s dedication, along with other NATO members, to allocating 5% of GDP to defense, in accordance with new objectives unveiled at the earlier this year.
