Donald Trump views the Ukraine war as very unfair on not only those killed but also on US taxpayers, the White House has said. Speaking in Washington after two days of trilateral peace talks in Geneva ended without a breakthrough, the White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said there had been “meaningful progress made” with pledges “to continue to work towards a peace deal together”. But she also said Trump viewed the situation – nearly four years into the war – as “very unfair, not just for Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives, but also for the American people and the American taxpayer who were footing the bill for this war effort before President Trump put a stop to it”. In March last year the Trump administration suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, blocking billions of dollars’ worth of crucial shipments, as the White House piled pressure on Kyiv to reach a peace deal with Russia. The US and its allies later developed a mechanism where Ukraine is supplied with weapons from US stocks bought with funds from Nato countries.
After the two days of US-brokered talks in Geneva between Ukraine and Russia ended on Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was dissatisfied with the outcome. Officials from Kyiv and Moscow both said the discussions were difficult. At the conclusion the delegations said they would meet again, without providing a date, while Zelenskyy and the White House suggested discussions could occur soon. As fighting continued in the war, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address: “As of today, we cannot say that the result is sufficient. The military discussed certain issues seriously and substantively. Sensitive political matters, possible compromises and the necessary meeting of leaders have not yet been sufficiently addressed.”
