President Trump says the end of the Russia-Ukraine war may finally be in sight. Speaking with reporters on Thursday, the President delivered his most hopeful assessment yet. “We have a lot of steps, but I think it’s the closest I’ve seen,” Trump said. “I think it’s the closest I’ve seen to maybe working out a settlement.”
Asked why, the President pointed to the human toll that has worn on both sides. “It’s closest. I think people want it. It’s been a long time. There’s been a lot of death,” Trump said. “They’re losing 25,000 people a month and even more than that. A lot of death.”
Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the diplomacy is moving. “I think we’re working on some renewed negotiations,” the Vice President said Thursday, adding that the core question is “what is America’s policy in Ukraine or Russia going to be.” He also noted the irony of European countries that waged “regulatory and licensing war” against SpaceX now “running to SpaceX saying, please do what we need you to do.”
The momentum follows a win the President’s critics said could not happen. On Wednesday, Trump explained that keeping talks with Moscow open is what made it possible to bring American Stephen Hubbard home from a Russian prison. “We’re negotiating with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine,” he said then.
President Trump campaigned on ending a war that never should have started, and he has kept the pressure on every side to come to the table. Thursday’s message was clear: peace through strength is working, and the President intends to finish the job.
