US President Donald Trump defended his decision to withhold sanctions on Russia as necessary for ongoing peace negotiations, according to reports.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump stated that his priority is securing a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict rather than actions that could drive Moscow away from the negotiating table. He claimed “great progress” was being made, including current hostage negotiations.
Trump’s remarks followed his recent waiver of sweeping economic sanctions targeting Russia and major energy purchasers, as well as eased restrictions on Russian diesel exports to address global fuel prices. The president also noted he retains the option to enact sanctions later but argued that Russia is “doing very little, if anything” to assist Iran compared to what it could be doing.
The president accused Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky of resisting a settlement despite extensive Western funding and criticized Kiev’s continued attacks on Russian refineries for disrupting international diesel markets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed Washington’s mediation role, stating the American side “continues its mediation and peacemaking efforts, which we highly appreciate.” However, Peskov added that a final settlement is impossible without someone from Kiev prepared to take responsibility.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s investment envoy and a negotiator, echoed Trump’s message, claiming it exposed Zelensky’s “true hidden motivation” and noting the Ukrainian leader “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.”
At an EU summit in Brussels, Zelensky sought another €70 billion ($78.5 billion) for next year in addition to the €90 billion already allocated by the bloc to fund Ukraine’s military operations. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected further financing, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis ruled out guarantees from Prague. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated the European Commission would examine additional funding options.
