Trump doubts Putin is willing to end the Ukraine war

Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon.

President Donald Trump on Saturday questioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to ending the war in Ukraine after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” the U.S. president wrote in a post on Truth Social, referencing the Russian military strikes in Ukraine this week that killed and wounded dozens of people.

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Trump added, suggesting that maybe Putin “has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’”

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican on Saturday.AFP - Getty ImagesImposing further sanctions on Russia is an idea that has bipartisan support in the U.S., with a bipartisan group of 50 senators — 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans — earlier this month introducing a bill that would impose additional sanctions on Russia.

Trump has for weeks been advocating in favor of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and on Friday he hinted that a deal could be close to the finish line, urging Russia and Ukraine to meet for “very high level” talks. Earlier in the week, Trump had slammed Zelesnkyy for rejecting the terms of any peace deal that would allow Russia to retain control of Crimea, which it annexed against Ukraine’s will in 2014.