Trump suggests Russia may be delaying peace in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has suggested that Russia may be “dragging their feet” in achieving peace in Ukraine, despite stating that he believes Moscow wants to end the war.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday night, Trump said, “I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they’re dragging their feet. I’ve done it over the years.” He added that he believes both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want the war to end.
His comments followed Russia’s statement that it would only implement a US-brokered deal to halt military action in the Black Sea once certain sanctions on its financial and export sectors are lifted.
The White House announced on Tuesday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed “to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.” However, while Zelensky confirmed Ukraine’s commitment to the agreement, the Kremlin outlined conditions that included lifting sanctions on Russia’s agricultural bank and its reconnection to the SWIFT international payment system.
Trump acknowledged Russia’s conditions in a press briefing on Tuesday, stating, “We’re thinking about all of them right now. There are five or six conditions. We are looking at all of them.”
In addition, the White House stated that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure. However, details of the agreement remain unclear. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had stopped targeting energy infrastructure from March 18, following a phone call between Trump and Putin.
Ukraine, however, accused Moscow of continued attacks on its infrastructure, with an aide to Zelensky citing at least eight strikes in the past week. Russia, in turn, accused Ukraine of targeting its own facilities, including an oil pumping station in the Russian region of Krasnodar.
Tensions escalated further overnight when Russia launched over 100 drones toward Ukraine. Ukrainian officials reported that three civilians were killed in recent Russian attacks, including a three-year-old girl and her mother.
Zelensky condemned the strikes, stating on X, “Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace.”
While the Black Sea ceasefire has been hailed as a potential step forward, analysts warn it could disadvantage Ukraine by limiting its ability to strike Russian military assets in the region. The Institute for the Study of War has argued that Ukraine’s previous successful attacks in the Black Sea—such as the sinking of the Moskva warship and strikes on Russian oil depots—have been key in pressuring Russia.
“The United States should amplify and accelerate, not constrain, these effective asymmetric warfare approaches that impact Russia’s battlefield operations,” the institute stated in its latest assessment.
Source: CNN
