Donald Trump last week dropped his call for a pause in fighting. What does this mean for Kyiv and what might happen now?
Russia-Ukraine war – live updates
For six months Donald Trump has been calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine. His position abruptly changed after his summit last week with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The US now supports a final settlement of the war first, which is Russia’s negotiating position. What changed? And where does Trump’s latest flip-flop leave prospects for an end to the fighting?
Since spring the White House has been urging Russia to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine. As Donald Trump put it in March: “I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that’ll be great.” The US president threatened to impose sanctions on Moscow, and on buyers of its oil such as India, if it refused. He gave various deadlines, which came and went. Until last week the US continued its demand for a 30-day pause in the fighting, to which Kyiv agreed. Speaking on his plane to Alaska on Friday, before a meeting with Putin, Trump repeated his demand. There would be “severe consequences” if a ceasefire didn’t happen. “I’m not going to be happy,” he said.
The US president’s position dramatically shifted after meeting Putin. Exactly why is uncertain. But in the face of Russian opposition, Trump dropped his call for a ceasefire and instead embraced the Kremlin’s preferred “plan” to end the war. This envisages a comprehensive peace settlement first. Until that happens, Moscow will carry on bombing. Trump also agreed to Russia’s territorial claims. Putin wants Ukraine to cede the northern part of Donetsk oblast – including the fortress cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – which Russian troops have been unable to conquer since 2014. By way of a so-called concession, Russia reportedly said it would freeze the frontlines in southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces.
