Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) claimed that negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict were making "great progress", while defending his administration's diplomatic approach towards Moscow and accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of failing to secure a better deal two years ago.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described his strategy to strike a deal between the warring nations as a simple one which he said includes ensuring that Russia is not, "foolishly", driven away from the bargaining table.
Trump said that the diplomatic process is making great strides, touting that he can sign the document that involves ongoing hostage negotiations "anytime that I want."
"My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations! Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!" Trump wrote.
Furthermore, Trump addressed claims of Russia helping Iran and stated that Moscow's efforts are "very little" in regard to its capabilities, adding that he "wants to keep it that way."
"Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way," he added.
The US President subsequently criticised Zelensky over Ukrainian attacks targeting Russian diesel refineries, stating that these are hurting the global energy markets, while commending Russia for selling diesel "at a low price" after Moscow agreed to supply more than 3,00,000 tonnes of diesel fuel, followed by another 5,00,000 tonnes during November and 1 million tonnes immediately thereafter as part of the deal with the US.
"Lastly, Zelensky is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World," he added.
Trump further asserted that his Ukrainian counterpart does not want to end the ongoing conflict to continue availing financial benefits from Europe and the US, such as in the previous Joe Biden-led administration.
The US President painted Zelensky as responsible for the deterioration of his country amid the conflict, accusing him of not striking a better deal "two years ago."
"Zelensky doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead," Trump asserted, while reiterating that "I WANT THIS WAR END!"
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Moscow has launched dozens of strikes targeting the nation's critical infrastructure over the past week, despite a diplomatic announcement regarding a temporary halt.
"Since the American President announced the energy ceasefire a week ago, Russia has deliberately attacked Ukraine's energy and oil and gas sectors 76 times," he wrote on X, noting that recent bombardments impacted electrical installations across the Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa regions.
Zelensky also warned that Washington's decision to ease certain sanctions against Russia could encourage further aggression by Moscow. He expressed concern that additional sanctions relief could follow, arguing that such measures would not help end hostilities.
An executive order signed by the US leader reversed crucial Russia-related US sanctions and tariffs that were originally set to take effect under the newly enacted Graham Act. Administration officials maintained that the temporary relief served national security priorities. The legislative framework was designed to ramp up economic pressure on Moscow following the military escalation in 2022.
Responding to the policy shift, Zelensky argued that easing restrictions would reinforce Moscow's willingness to continue military operations rather than encourage negotiations.
"It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people," wrote Zelensky. "This certainly does not stop the war."