Trump Presses Putin as Witkoff Leads Ukraine Peace Efforts

Donald Trump has publicly urged Vladimir Putin to “get moving” on a Ukraine ceasefire, expressing growing frustration with the Russian president. On Friday, following his envoy’s meeting in St Petersburg, Trump wrote on social media: “Russia has to get moving. Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war.”

This blunt messaging reveals Trump’s increasing impatience with the peace process. The US president has repeatedly stated he is “very angry” and “pissed off” with Putin over the lack of progress in agreeing a truce between Kyiv and Moscow. Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the conflict “in 24 hours” and declared on Friday that the war “should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened, if I were President” in 2022.

Witkoff’s Four-Hour Meeting with Putin

US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday for more than four hours, marking his third meeting with Putin this year. The Kremlin said the talks focused on “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement,” while Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev characterised the discussions as “productive.”

Before meeting Putin, Witkoff held talks with Dmitriev at the Grand Hotel Europe in St Petersburg. Dmitriev, the 49-year-old head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, had visited Washington just last week—the most senior Russian official to go to the US since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Witkoff’s Controversial Territory Proposal

Less than 48 hours after dining with Dmitriev in Washington, Witkoff delivered a clear message to Trump at the White House: the fastest way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine was to support a strategy giving Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022, according to two US officials and five people familiar with the situation.

This wasn’t a new position for Witkoff. In a March 21 interview with Tucker Carlson, he publicly stated about the eastern territories: “They’re Russian-speaking. There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.”

General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, reportedly pushed back during the White House meeting, arguing that while Ukraine might negotiate some terms related to disputed territories, it would never agree to unilaterally cede total ownership to Russia. The meeting ended without Trump making a decision to change US strategy.

Unorthodox Diplomatic Approach

In a break with normal security protocols, Witkoff had initially invited Dmitriev, who remains under US sanctions following Russia’s invasion, to his personal residence for dinner before the White House meeting. This set off alarms inside the White House and State Department, according to two people familiar with the situation, as US officials typically avoid hosting Russian officials in their homes due to counterintelligence concerns.

The dinner was ultimately rescheduled and took place at the White House instead, highlighting the unconventional nature of Witkoff’s diplomatic style.

Trump’s Growing Frustration with Peace Process

Trump has set an ambitious timeline for peace, repeatedly stating he wants to broker a Ukraine ceasefire by May. However, his administration’s efforts have faced significant challenges. Two partial ceasefire deals—one on energy infrastructure and one in the Black Sea—have stalled, with the latter failing when the Kremlin demanded that sanctions imposed after its full-scale invasion be lifted.

This lack of progress has frustrated Trump, who has made ending the Ukraine conflict a key foreign policy priority, arguing the US must halt a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and risks confrontation between America and nuclear-armed Russia.

US-Europe Strategic Divisions Widen

As Witkoff pursues Trump’s ceasefire strategy, European nations have responded by increasing their support for Ukraine, recently agreeing £18 billion (€21bn) in military aid for Kyiv. At their meeting, Europe’s defence ministers expressed pessimism about an imminent end to the conflict.

European officials have privately voiced concerns that pressure for quick results might lead the US to accept arrangements that could undermine not only Ukraine but Europe’s own security framework. Two European officials who have had recent contacts with the administration said there was pressure for the negotiating team to quickly get results, which worried them that the US might accept moves that could fundamentally alter Europe’s security architecture.

Western diplomats in contact with the administration note an apparent lack of a coordinated Ukraine policy process. The National Security Council has hosted only one principals’ meeting on the issue, contrary to standard practice, leading to greater confusion inside the administration and among European allies about the direction of peace talks.

Republican Divisions Over Witkoff’s Approach

Witkoff, an old friend of Trump who has helped secure diplomatic victories including a Gaza ceasefire and the return of US citizen Marc Fogel from Russia, has garnered support from Ukraine-sceptic Republicans. However, his perceived pro-Russia stance has stoked outrage among other Republicans who believe the administration has turned too sharply toward Moscow.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill were so concerned about Witkoff’s comments in the Carlson interview that several called National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to complain. Eric Levine, a major Republican donor, went further in a March 26 letter to fellow donors, writing: “Witkoff must go, and Rubio must take his place.”

Despite the criticism, Waltz publicly defended Witkoff, stating: “Special Envoy Witkoff has brought a wealth of private sector negotiating experience and urgency to the diplomatic stage, and we’re already seeing results in just a few weeks.”

Recent Prisoner Exchange Shows Limited Progress

One concrete result of ongoing diplomacy came earlier this week when Washington and Moscow completed a prisoner swap. Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American sentenced to 12 years in jail in Russia for donating $51 to a Ukrainian charity, was freed on Thursday morning and exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russian military manufacturers.

Zelensky Pushes Back Against Territorial Concessions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently pushed back against any peace plan involving territorial concessions. During a visit on Friday to the site of a 4 April Russian missile attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, which killed 19 people,e including nine children, Zelensky accused the Kremlin of deliberately prolonging the war.

After laying flowers for the young victims, Zelensky renewed his call for additional air defence systems, writing: “We discussed this with President Trump – Ukraine is not just asking, we’re ready to purchase these additional systems.” He emphasised that “only powerful weapons can truly be relied upon to protect life when you have a neighbour like Russia.”

Analysis: A High-Stakes Diplomatic Gamble

Trump and Witkoff’s Ukraine strategy represents a significant departure from previous US policy, prioritising a swift end to hostilities over longer-term concerns about territorial integrity and precedent. This approach has created unprecedented tensions with European allies who fear that quick concessions to Putin could embolden future Russian aggression.

Witkoff’s expanding diplomatic role—from meetings with Putin to upcoming talks with Iran—reflects Trump’s preference for dealmaking through trusted personal emissaries rather than traditional diplomatic channels. While this approach has yielded some results, such as the recent prisoner exchange, it raises questions about long-term policy coherence and the impact on established international norms regarding territorial sovereignty.

As Witkoff continues his diplomatic efforts following his meeting with Putin, the success of Trump’s unorthodox approach to ending Europe’s largest land war since World War II remains uncertain. What is clear is that the strategic divide between the US and its European allies on how to resolve the Ukraine conflict is growing wider, with potentially far-reaching consequences for transatlantic relations and the future European security order.