Trump Pushes Peace As Putin Ignores Warnings and Bombs Kyiv

Donald Trump’s diplomatic patience is being put to the test as Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed deadly airstrikes on Kyiv, killing 12 and injuring nearly 100, just one day before Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s latest trip to Moscow.

Despite the violence, Trump told reporters he’s still convinced a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is not just possible, but "very probable." He described a vision of "good deals"—not just on peace, but tariffs and trade—aimed at making America rich and saving thousands of lives.

Trump insisted he’s set no hard deadline for brokering peace, only that any deal should come "as fast as possible." The comments came after the U.S. threatened to step away from talks if Russia and Ukraine didn’t make progress, and a day after Trump took to social media to directly tell Putin to "STOP!" the bombing, highlighting the loss of 5,000 soldiers every week.

Opening up about his earlier campaign promises to stop the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, Trump admitted he was speaking "figuratively," not literally—so if you were hoping for a magician-in-chief, sorry to disappoint.

Still, it seems the "STOP" message met the same fate as President Biden’s earlier warnings—largely ignored by Moscow. Trump continues to point fingers at Biden for the war’s origins, though hasn’t quite spelled out the why.

Security experts like former CIA Moscow chief Dan Hoffman criticized the Biden administration for failing to arm Ukraine quickly or strongly enough to deter Putin. Hoffman described three U.S. options: entice Russia with deals (Trump’s preferred route), ramp up Ukraine’s military support to make Putin feel real pain, or just walk away and let Europe handle it—risking further Russian land grabs and global instability.

Meanwhile, an official close to the negotiations confirmed that Ambassador Witkoff was in Russia as part of Trump’s peace push. The official said it’s "long past time" for the bloodshed to stop and for all sides to move beyond failed strategies—though specifics on any progress remain under tight wraps.

Leaked details from a recent report suggest the White House floated a "final offer": Ukraine would recognize Russia’s hold over much of Luhansk and other occupied regions, and even give up claims to Crimea, with the U.S. agreeing to lift sanctions. Neither the White House nor the National Security Council answered questions about consequences if Putin refuses to play ball—or why they think he’d agree when so many experts are skeptical.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, remains firm: Crimea is Ukrainian, full stop. He even posted a declaration by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying, "No country can change the borders of another by force"—a not-so-subtle jab at Trump’s apparent change of heart when it comes to Russia’s claims.