US President Donald Trump has placed the burden of ending the nearly four-year war with Russia squarely on Ukraine, arguing that Moscow’s military strength and territorial gains leave Kyiv at a disadvantage. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said “Ukraine has to want to settle this war,” signalling that he expects Kyiv to move toward a negotiated settlement even as the fighting continues.
Trump pointed to Russia’s ability to sustain its military campaign and capture territory, portraying Moscow as holding the upper hand. “Russia is a big machine – they just keep grinding forward, and that’s what they’ve done. They’ve taken a very large piece of land,” he said. His remarks came as his envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday, as Washington continued efforts to broker an end to Russia’s invasion.
Trump also questioned the value of American assistance to Kyiv, complaining that Washington had spent heavily without receiving anything in return. “We’ve given a lot to Ukraine. We’ve gotten absolutely nothing back except grief, death, tremendous monetary loss,” he said. The US president highlighted the “tremendous” personal hostility between Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy as an obstacle to negotiations, and claimed European countries were growing weary of the conflict, although European governments have been working to offset any reduction in American military support.
The push for a settlement coincides with steps by the administration to ease economic pressure on Moscow. On Friday night, Trump signed an executive order exempting Russia from sanctions under a new measure passed by Congress last month. The legislation, named after the late South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, was designed to squeeze the financial resources sustaining Russia’s war against Ukraine and gave Trump authority to impose tariffs on countries that continue trading with Moscow. The law grants the White House broad powers to grant exemptions, requiring the president only to notify Congress if he declines to impose the restrictions — authority Trump exercised two days before the sanctions were due to take effect.
“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” Trump said in the order, adding that he had submitted a certification to Congress that the waiver was “in the national interests of the United States.” The order did not explain in detail why lifting the restrictions would serve American interests.
The decision marks another shift in Trump’s approach to Russia. In recent weeks, he has expressed frustration with Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, arguing the strikes have driven up petrol and diesel prices, and the administration has sought to ease fuel costs by allowing Russian diesel into US and global markets. However, the war involving Iran remains the biggest factor restricting fuel supplies, limiting the relief such measures can deliver.
The sanctions waiver has added to mounting tensions between Washington and Kyiv, a relationship already strained by disruptions to satellite support for Ukrainian drones. Critics argue that reducing economic pressure could give Putin more resources to sustain the war rather than bring him closer to a settlement. For Ukraine, the challenge is to secure an agreement that ends the fighting without sacrificing its territorial integrity or long-term security.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/russia-is-a-big-machine-trump-says-ukraine-has-to-want-to-settle-war-with-putin/articleshow/135076395.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-10-21 01:20:00
