DONALD Trump has cast fresh doubt on Russia’s true intentions after yet another postponement of peace negotiations intended to end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters, the President said he remained uncertain about Vladimir Putin’s motives after the Kremlin rejected the latest proposal to break the deadlock in the four-year conflict.
Asked how he thought the situation might play out, Trump said: “I don’t know what the Kremlin is doing.”
However, he noted that American representatives had held productive talks with the Russian leader on Tuesday.
A U.S. delegation that included Steve Witkoff, the President’s peace envoy, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner returned with the impression that Putin was interested in coming to an agreement.
“He would like to end the war,” Trump said.
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“That was their impression.”
Within hours of dismissing the latest peace plan, Russia launched a vast drone barrage on Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
At least 111 drones were sent toward the Dnipro region, killing two people, aged 43 and 50, and injuring three others.
Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Odesa were also struck in the overnight assault.
Russia’s battlefield advances have bolstered its negotiating stance, with pro-Kremlin outlets claiming Putin won’t yield because he is “absolutely confident on the battlefield.”
Across Europe, this has only deepened the belief that Moscow is stalling – pretending to engage in diplomacy while playing for time.
After five hours of discussions, nothing could be agreed on the central question of territorial concessions.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s presidential aide, said “no compromise” had been reached.
The official openly acknowledged Russia’s “critical and even negative attitude towards some of the proposals” brought by the U.S. delegation.
Senator Marco Rubio later indicated that there had been modest movement on certain issues, saying that “some progress” had been made, though “we’re still not there”.
Despite the stalemate, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted Russia remained open to further dialogue.
“Something was accepted, while something was marked as unacceptable,” he said.
He called it “a normal working process towards finding a compromise”.
Peskov added that Moscow would meet U.S. negotiators “as many times as it took”.
More discussions are expected, with Steve Witkoff scheduled to meet Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s national security council, in Miami on Thursday.
Kyiv maintains that, even if a peace agreement is reached, the only reliable safeguard against future Russian aggression is NATO membership.
Moscow strongly opposes this, and Trump signalled he, too, has no intention of allowing Ukraine to join.
This remains one of the most contentious issues on the table.
Nato intelligence circulated at a meeting of foreign ministers warned that Putin is exploiting negotiations to pursue broader territorial ambitions.
This includes areas “Russia does not nor will occupy in the short or medium term”.
A senior Nato official cautioned that “Moscow will aim to ensure Ukraine’s military capabilities are weakened as much as possible to pave the way for further aggression”.
These warnings followed Putin’s accusation that Europe was attempting to derail the peace negotiations.
Addressing a Moscow forum, he insisted he did not seek conflict with Europe but was nevertheless “ready for war.”
Concerns have grown as Russia rapidly stockpiles long-range missiles.
This is something U.S. officials say could threaten Western nations should the conflict widen.
This tense backdrop coincided with Volodymyr Zelensky’s first official visit to Ireland.
In Dublin, the Ukrainian President urged Europe to commit frozen Russian assets to Ukraine’s defence.
Meanwhile in Brussels, the European Commission unveiled plans for a £184 billion loan, mostly secured against Russian assets.
European leaders said would cover two-thirds of Kyiv’s financing needs over the next two years.