Trump administration signals impossibility of ceasefire in Ukraine in coming months – Reuters

Officials from US President Donald Trump's administration have recently discussed the likelihood that the US will not be able to secure a peace deal on Ukraine in the coming months. As a result, they have been developing new plans to put pressure on both Kyiv and Moscow. Source: Reuters, citing two US officials familiar with the matter

Details: Reuters noted that Trump and his advisers had intended to achieve a complete ceasefire in Ukraine by April or May and secure a lasting peace in the following months at the beginning of his second term.

However, according to US officials, none of these goals currently seem achievable, increasing the risk of a prolonged war and the necessity of additional Western support for Ukraine's military operations. Officials said no agreement appears imminent, increasing the likelihood that the three-year full-scale war will drag on and that Ukraine will require more Western support for its military operations. Quote from Reuters: "Top US officials have for weeks complained privately about Kyiv's handling of the negotiations and what they view as resistance to a minerals deal with Washington and moving forward with peace talks.

But in recent days, the sources said, officials are increasingly frustrated with Moscow."

Details: Following a series of talks over the weekend, officials at the White House and the US Department of State acknowledged that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is actively opposing Washington's attempts to reach a lasting peace deal and have discussed economic and diplomatic pressure to push Russia towards an agreement. Quote from Reuters: "Trump has for weeks said he trusts the Russian president and that he believes the [Russian] leader is committed to peace, but the White House has grown wary of Putin's intentions in recent days, the sources said, though Trump continues to signal publicly his belief that Putin wants to end the war." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda doesn't recognise Putin as president - ed.] "It is not clear what specific plans the [Trump] administration may have to pressure Moscow, but one senior US official said the White House is continuing to look at additional tariff and sanctions measures it can levy on the country."

Details: Reuters also pointed out that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had said in an interview published on Tuesday 1 April that Moscow cannot accept the US proposals for ending the war in their current form, as they do not address the issues that the Kremlin claims were the reasons for starting the war. Previously: US President Donald Trump believes that Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants to conclude a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine but added that he has set a "psychological deadline" for Russia to agree to it. Background:

• On 30 March, US President Donald Trump stated that he was "very angry" and "pissed off" with Putin for talking about an interim administration in Ukraine.

  He also threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russian oil if Moscow does not come to the negotiating table and stop the fighting in Ukraine.

• Trump announced plans to hold a new conversation with Putin this week to discuss Ukraine.
• Earlier, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, after meeting with Trump in Florida on Saturday, proposed setting 20 April as the deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire before imposing new sanctions.
• While speaking to journalists on 31 March, Trump claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to withdraw from the mineral deal and has warned him of "big problems" if he does so.

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