Putin is under pressure and Ukraine war is closer to ending than many think, Trump says
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is under pressure and that efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine are moving much faster than many people believe, according to journalist Eric Daugherty.
According to Trump, despite Russia's continued strikes on Ukrainian cities, Moscow is looking for a way to bring the fighting to an end. He said negotiations between the sides are ongoing.
"I think he (Putin - ed.) does feel pressure. He wants to end it, and Ukraine wants to end it, and we're in talks, and we'll see if we can get it ended. It's a terrible thing," Trump said.
He added that he had expected resolving the conflict to be one of the easiest diplomatic challenges he had faced because he knows both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin well. Trump said both leaders genuinely want to stop the war now and that the issue would also be discussed with NATO.
"But I think we're getting much closer than people realize. President Putin wants it to end, and President Zelenskyy actually wants it to end now. We're going to be going to NATO, and we're going to be talking about it," he said.
Trump also said he had a "good call" and believes the parties are as close as they have ever been to reaching a final agreement.
Overnight on July 6, Russian forces carried out one of the largest combined attacks on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia launched 419 aerial weapons, including 68 missiles of various types and 351 kamikaze drones. Kyiv was the main target of the attack.
Ukraine's air defenses were unable to intercept any of the ballistic missiles launched overnight because of a shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
