Senior Trump administration officials are privately acknowledging that a Ukraine peace deal is unlikely in the coming months, despite early hopes of brokering a ceasefire by spring.
According to two U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters, the White House and State Department are now drawing up fresh plans to pressure both Kyiv and Moscow, as the war shows no signs of ending. The conflict, now in its third year, has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and risks drawing NATO closer to direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
President Trump, who entered office promising swift peace, is said to be increasingly irritated. The White House believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is stalling negotiations, especially over a proposed U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement. But recent frustrations have turned toward Moscow.
Over the weekend, officials reviewed ways to force Russia back to the table, including possible secondary sanctions and tariff hikes on oil buyers. In an interview, Trump threatened tariffs of up to 50% on Russian oil exports, responding to Putin’s remarks questioning Zelensky’s legitimacy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Baltic ministers last week that peace in Ukraine remains distant. National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt confirmed that the administration is now considering further sanctions, saying: “President Trump was clear he will consider imposing secondary sanctions on all oil coming out of Russia if they are not serious about bringing this conflict to a peaceful resolution.”
Yet Moscow remains defiant. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said current U.S. peace proposals fail to address what Russia considers the core causes of the war.
Putin's demands remain high: a rollback of NATO operations in Europe and a ban on peacekeepers in Ukraine. Western officials say these “maximalist” requests are non-starters.
Despite early hopes that sanctions might pressure the Kremlin, U.S. officials are now less convinced. Trump's team, including Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Ukraine envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg, are debating how much ground the West can give without compromising core strategic interests.
Meanwhile, tensions with Kyiv continue. Trump accused Zelensky of trying to exit a rare earth minerals deal seen as key to U.S. involvement. “He’s trying to back out... and if he does that he’s got some problems, big, big problems,” Trump said.
The White House is reportedly reviewing the terms of that deal to make it more acceptable to Kyiv. However, ceasefire efforts around energy infrastructure and the Black Sea have stalled, with both sides continuing attacks despite initial agreements.
While public statements from Trump remain optimistic, confidence inside the administration is faltering. Talks have not broken down completely—but hopes for a quick deal are fading fast.
Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people and drawing a thr...
Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing mo...
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace d...
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week cease...
Israel launched its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since hostilities escalated last month, killing over 100 people, even as Hezbollah halted attacks u...
Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people and drawing a threat of retaliation from Iran, which suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the United States.
Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing more than 250 people on Wednesday, as the Iran-aligned group resumed rocket attacks on northern Israel after a brief pause under the two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
Some geographies are small on the map yet immense in history. The Strait of Hormuz is one. About a quarter of global oil trade and a fifth of LNG flows pass through this narrow corridor - around 20 million barrels per day sustaining the global system.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had stopped firing on northern Israel and Israeli forces on Wednesday as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East brokered between the United States and Iran. However, a Hezbollah lawmaker warned that the pause could collapse if Tel Aviv does not adhere to it.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week ceasefire covering all areas, but Israel says the deal excludes Lebanon. Tel Aviv says the U.S. is committed to achieving shared goals in upcoming negotiations.
Recent U.S. complaints about NATO allies and threats to quit the alliance are pushing European countries to seek alternative security arrangements, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.
South Korea has welcomed a rare conciliatory response from North Korea, calling it a “meaningful step” towards easing military tensions on the Korean peninsula.
A train driver has died and several passengers have been injured after a high-speed train collided with an army lorry carrying military equipment at a level crossing in northern France on Tuesday morning (7 April), the local prefecture and railway operators said in separate statements.
Greece will ban access to social media for children under 15 from 1 January 2027, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, citing rising anxiety, sleep problems and the addictive design of online platforms.
Trade discussions between China and the U.S. are expected to remain virtual for now, with no major investment initiatives planned before a potential meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The Russian T-90M tank is worth an estimated $4.5 million and was designed to dominate the battlefield. Yet this steel giant has repeatedly been destroyed by something far smaller, faster and thousands of times cheaper: the drone.
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards its east coast on Wednesday (8 April), South Korea’s military said, in a fresh show of force that underscored rising tensions despite brief signs of a possible thaw between the two sides.
The leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party used her first full day in mainland China to publicly pledge reconciliation, invoking the spirit of her party's founder, Sun Yat-sen, to call for unity whilst surprisingly praising the communist mainland’s developmental achievements.
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