Trump acknowledges Russia possibly delays peace deal

President Donald Trump indicated that Russia might be deliberately delaying peace negotiations with Ukraine.

This comes as the White House under Trump’s administration is striving to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia by 20 April 2025, which aligns with Easter celebrations in both Western and Orthodox traditions.

To facilitate this, US officials engaged in separate discussions with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia on 23-25 March, focusing on technical aspects of implementing and monitoring a proposed 30-day truce targeting strikes against energy infrastructure and a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea.

Despite these diplomatic efforts, Russia articulated maximalist demands, including the cessation of arms supplies to Ukraine—a condition that Kyiv and its allies find unacceptable.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia also continues to demand control over unoccupied Ukrainian territories, asserting that areas like Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Mykolaiv—regions not currently under Russian control—are part of the broader “Novorossiya” or “New Russia.”

“I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they’re dragging their feet,” Trump said during a White House interview with Newsmax on 25 March, “I’ve done it over the years, you know; I don’t want to sign a contract, I want to sort of stay in the game, but maybe I don’t want to do it, quite… I’m not sure.”

The US president suggested both sides desire an end to hostilities, stating, “I think Russia would like to see it end, and I think [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy would like to see it end at this point.”

Trump expressed concern about the human toll of the Russo-Ukrainian war, claiming approximately 2,500 soldiers are killed weekly between both sides.

He described the battlefield conditions as devastating and emphasized his desire to see the fighting stop, particularly noting the increased use of drone warfare.

However, determining the exact number of soldiers killed weekly between Ukraine and Russia is challenging due to the lack of transparent and consistent reporting from both sides.

Russia’s total losses, including killed, wounded, missing, and captured personnel, are estimated at around 900,000 since the full-scale war began, according to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

In January 2025, Russia was reportedly losing around 2,000 soldiers daily, which decreased to between 1,200 and 1,500 per day in February and March. This translates to approximately 8,400 to 10,500 Russian soldiers killed per week in January and around 8,400 to 10,500 in February and March, according to Newsweek.

Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy claimed that 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, however The Economist latest estimates suggested that at least 65,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Trump also referenced his previous claims about Russian forces surrounding Ukrainian military units, likely referencing Russian recapture of Kursk territories.

However, President Zelenskyy and the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces firmly denied the reports of encircled troops in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, claiming Russia uses false information for political leverage against Ukraine and its partners.

Earlier, Zelenskyy also urged Russia to stop setting preconditions that hinder peace progress. He criticized Russia’s demands as attempts by Putin to stall or derail the US-proposed ceasefire. Zelenskyy warned that these conditions risk making the truce impossible or delayed.