Since the first presidential debates last year, Donald Trump refused to answer the question about how he saw the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He famously promised to end it within 24 hours, but he was less decisive when asked whether its end would mean Ukraine’s victory.
Ever since, Kyiv has been trying to convince Trump to decide who to back — more specifically, to side with Ukraine.
From meeting Trump in New York in September 2024 before the presidential election to being accused of being a “dictator” and finally the unprecedentedly heated argument in the Oval Office in February, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been trying to convince the sitting US president that Ukraine is not an obstacle to a ceasefire, let alone any peace deal.
In late March, Ukraine agreed to a US-proposed immediate 30-day ceasefire in Russia’s ongoing invasion, if the Kremlin adheres to the same terms.
Two months later, there is still no ceasefire in Ukraine, and Kyiv regularly reiterates that it is still ready for it at any moment, if Russia agrees.
True peace, unconditional ceasefire
In the meantime, Russia unilaterally announced two short periods of ceasefire: one over Easter and one now, around Moscow’s Victory Parade day. Both times, the Kremlin violated its own truce and refused a counterproposal for an unconditional ceasefire for 30 days.
During this time, Ukraine finally managed to negotiate and sign the minerals deal with the US, and the Ukrainian parliament even ratified the partnership, giving the US access to profit from Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.
Russia’s cooperation with the US has not moved forward, and the only “compromise” Moscow reportedly was ready to accept was its readiness not to claim Ukraine’s territories that Russia never controlled in the first place, such as large parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Ukraine seems to have tried almost everything to prove to the US that Kyiv is not an obstacle to a ceasefire, while at the same the same time increasing pressure on Russia, intensifying the drone attacks on Moscow region days before the Victory Day parade, paralyzing the airspace over Russia’s capital exactly in the moment when President Vladimir Putin was expecting the high-level guests.
The strategy might have worked. On Thursday evening, Trump and Zelenskyy had a lengthy phone call to discuss the ratified minerals deal.
Ukraine’s president later made a statement on X that wasn’t about the minerals deal but again about Ukraine’s commitment and willingness to an unconditional ceasefire.
“Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire starting right now, from this very moment — a 30-day silence,” Zelenskyy said.
“But it must be real. No missile or drone strikes, no hundreds of assaults on the front. The Russians must respond appropriately – by supporting the ceasefire. They must prove their willingness to end the war.”
Zelenskyy used this opportunity to reiterate that this is not the first time Kyiv has made this offer. “Thirty days that could become the beginning of years of peace. A ceasefire, lasting and reliable, will be a real indicator of movement toward peace,” he said.
Symbolically making this statement on Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism, Zelenskyy added: “America can help with this. The world needs America now just as it did eighty years ago.”
Trump took to his Truth Social platform with a more moderate statement that the talks between Russia and Ukraine continue, indicating that Washington would be willing to settle for a shorter ceasefire lasting less than 30 days.
“The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations,” Trump posted.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions,” he stated in an apparent threat to the Kremlin, adding that “everybody should want it to stop.”
“I do, and the United States of America does, also. As president, I will stay committed to securing peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans, and a lasting peace it will be,” Trump emphasised.
Trump then continued with a similar statement to Zelenskyy’s: “It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Vance: Moscow asking for ‘too much’
Earlier, in a clear sign of increased frustration in Washington, US Vice President JD Vance said that Russia is asking for “too much” in its negotiations with Ukraine.
Speaking at a security conference in the US capital, he said that the White House is focused on getting the two sides to hold direct talks and even threatened that the US is ready to walk away.
“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” Vance said.
“What I would say is, right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much. Ok?”
The Kremlin clearly doesn’t think it is asking for too much. On Thursday, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov admitted that Moscow “probably disappoints Washington” in some way.
“They disappoint us too, perhaps even more than we disappoint them, and for a long time”, Ushakov continued, adding that the sides are nevertheless “heading toward a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin.”
‘True friend of steel’ Xi
In the meantime, Putin is holding a different meeting in Moscow, hosting China’s president Xi Jinping who is visiting Russia’s capital for a bilateral meeting with Putin and participating in his Victory Day parade on Friday.
Prior to his arrival in Moscow, Xi Jinping wrote an article published in both Chinese and Russian media, drawing a parallel between modern-day US “hegemony” and the “arrogant fascist forces” of 80 years ago.
“The just forces of the world, including China and the Soviet Union, fought bravely and defeated the arrogant fascist forces side-by-side”, he wrote.
“Eighty years later, unilateralism, hegemony and bullying are extremely harmful. Humanity is once again at the crossroads.”
In a joint statement after the talks on Thursday, Xi and Putin said that the war in Ukraine could only be resolved by removing its “root causes”, indicating China’s support of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Xi also stated that Russia and China should “be true friends of steel that have been through a hundred trials by fire” as the two leaders pledged to strengthen coordination in all areas, including the military, and to “decisively counter Washington’s course of ‘dual containment'” of Beijing and Moscow.
Next week, Trump is visiting the Middle East. Between next Tuesday and Friday, he will go to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. All three of these countries have been playing a critical role in Ukraine’s efforts to put an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine with their help in prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children, forcefully deported by Moscow.
The Kremlin hasn’t commented on the possibility of Russia’s president going to the Middle East.