Trump discovers the limitations of pussyfooting around Putin
"Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let's get the Peace Deal DONE" demanded Donald Trump today, as he offered a relatively rare condemnation of the Kremlin following its deadly overnight strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
"I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing”, the US President added, in reference to the wave of Russian missile and drone attacks last night that killed 10 Ukrainians and injured at least 90 others.
Trump’s latest Truth Social outburst is a pivot from yesterday when the US President was directing anger over his apparent failure to end the war at Kyiv.
Last night, Trump accused Zelensky of prolonging the "killing field" by not acknowledging Russian control of Crimea, repeating his line than the Ukrainian President is a "man with no cards to play".
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later elaborated: "The President is frustrated. His patience is running very thin… He wants to see the killing stopped. You need both sides of the war willing to do that. And unfortunately, President Zelensky seems to be moving in the wrong direction."
While the subject of his ire is objectionable, it’s not surprising to hear that Trump - who vowed to make peace between Russia and Ukraine “on day one” - is frustrated. US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is preparing to travel to Moscow later this week to continue discussions with Putin – his fourth face-to-face with the Russian President in four months. And, though it’s difficult to know exactly what is going on with negotiations behind closed doors, it’s safe to say that Trump - whose 100th day in office fast approaches - is behind schedule.
One of the biggest worries for Europe now are the recent warnings from the Trump administration that it could simply give up on a peace deal and walk away from the conflict if it fails to negotiate a settlement soon.
And European and Ukrainian officials won’t have been encouraged by top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Witkoff’s decision to pull out of ceasefire talks in London yesterday at short notice.
Will Trump really walk away from the war?
He’s likely to persevere for at least a little longer before following through on his threat. After all, if he admits that his attempt to play peacemaker has ended in failure, he will lose face.
But, if he does walk away, it will be a very worrying development for Kyiv. Giving up on peace talks is likely to mean Washington also curtailing - or cutting off entirely - military aid to Ukraine.
If Washington fails to end the bloody stalemate, the Kremlin - which wants to see US sanctions lifted on Russia - will be hoping that Trump holds Zelensky, not Putin, responsible.
And, as Gerald Warner wrote earlier this week in Reaction, Trump’s warmest sympathisers “are baffled by the extent to which he has indulged Vladimir Putin, despite receiving neither cooperation nor consideration in return.”
Even Putin’s so-called “Easter truce” transpired to be more of an insult than an olive branch, after Russian troops on the frontline failed to stick to a full cessation of military activity for just 30 hours.
This phoney truce gives the impression that an emboldened Putin thinks he can treat Trump with near-contempt without incurring any penalty. Nor is it surprising that the Russian president might be starting to consider Trump a bit of a push-over.
As Warner adds, “Donald Trump has inexplicably chosen to pussyfoot around the one power on earth that most notoriously responds only to strength.”
Last night, while explaining Trump’s peace deal strategy to reporters, Leavitt said that the US President believes “both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy".
In Ukraine's case, it's increasingly evident that Trump’s team are pushing for Ukraine to accept that it will never recover the territories it has lost to Russia so far.
Yet it’s been far less clear all along what Trump is demanding that Moscow - who he unhelpfully claims “holds all the cards” - should give up in return.
Caitlin Allen
Deputy Editor
ON REACTION TODAY
Adam Boulton
The politics of State Visits
Gerald Warner
Britain’s energy infrastructure will buckle under net zero's prescriptions and contradictions
ALSO KNOW
Trump softens on China - The White House is reportedly considering cutting its tariffs on Chinese imports – in some cases by more than half – to de-escalate its trade war with Beijing.
IDF strikes kill at least 26 in Gaza - An Israeli air strike on a police station in northern Gaza has killed nine Palestinians, according to first responders. At least 17 other people were reportedly killed elsewhere in Gaza on Thursday, and several other people were also wounded when Israeli missiles hit the market area of Jabalia town.
UK government could implement social media curfew - A social media curfew, similar to the watershed on television, could be made law in Britain, the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has revealed. This would aim to stop children from being able to use apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat after 10pm.
Nantes school stabbing - A student at a French high school stabbed four other students at his school today, killing at least one and injuring three others before being arrested. The circumstances of the attack, which took place at the private Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides high school in Nantes on the Atlantic coast, are not immediately clear.
FIVE THINGS
Anti-Hamas protests are on the rise in Gaza as the group's iron grip slips, reports The BBC
A letter challenges the established narrative that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway mostly lived apart in an unhappy marriage, reveals The Washington Post
Prospect podcast on the pitfalls of being a satirist in 2025
Over four months after the fall of Assad, Syria is still struggling with the pervasive Captagon trade, writes New Lines
How to tackle Britain’s greatest walking route, in The Telegraph