President Donald Trump is pointing the finger at an unlikely target after several of his efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine have failed to gain traction.
Asked why the US-led peace talks had stalled, Trump blamed the victims of the attack and claimed it was the Ukrainian leader’s fault. Asked what stood in the way, he gave a one-word answer to Reuters: “Zelensky.”
At the same time, Trump argued that Moscow was ready to conclude the conflict, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was eager to end the nearly four-year offensive. “I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said, “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after his return to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on January 13, 2026. / MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday, the Kremlin said it agreed with Trump’s comments, which contrasted with European allies, who have long said Moscow has no real interest in ending the conflict as it aims to seize more territory while avoiding new Western sanctions.
Trump, who has said he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in one day” if he wins a second term, has repeatedly clashed with Zelensky over the past year.
Negotiations took a sharp turn in March last year when a public clash between Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office derailed a widely publicized deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, with the Ukrainian president leaving the White House without signing the deal. Later, Trump briefly suspended military aid and intelligence sharing, though both were reinstated the following month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a Christmas service at a church in the Moscow region on January 7, 2026.
Since then, interactions between the two presidents have improved, with Ukrainian officials becoming deeply involved in recent peace talks led by the United States.
Recent US-led diplomacy has focused on what security guarantees Ukraine will receive after the ceasefire to prevent another Russian attack. As part of those discussions, U.S. negotiators have widely urged Kiev to consider relinquishing control of the eastern Donbass region in exchange for a deal with Russia.
Zelensky, however, has repeatedly rejected any suggestion of territorial concessions, saying Ukraine’s constitution prohibits the government from surrendering any of its land to Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Russian military continues its offensive in Ukraine despite Trump’s claims that his pressure campaign and peace efforts are linked to the Kremlin.
In mid-January, Moscow confirmed it had launched a hypersonic Oreshnik missile into western Ukraine near the EU border, a high-speed strike that hit infrastructure in the Lviv region. Western officials denounced it as an escalation even as peace proposals were being discussed.
A Ukrainian rescuer works to put out a fire in a damaged building after an airstrike in Odesa on January 13, 2026 amid the Russian offensive in Ukraine. / OLEKSANDR GIMANOV / AFP via Getty Images
At the same time, Russia has repeatedly launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure as diplomatic talks continue. In December, Ukrainian authorities reported hundreds of drones and missiles targeting power stations and other sites across the country, causing many injuries and widespread damage even as talks to end the war continued.
Moscow’s Foreign Ministry has also signaled its reluctance to accept a partial ceasefire as credible.
In his New Year’s message, Zelensky warned that Moscow was deliberately continuing its war, and warned that “Russia will deliberately wage war”, including nighttime shelling and massive drone strikes, and thanked Ukrainian defenders for eliminating many.
Asked why Zelensky was resisting moving forward with peace talks, Trump told Reuters: “I think he’s having a hard time getting there.”
