President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his campaign for the White House that if he wins the 2024 election, he will be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours”. But in the 10 months since he took office, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with shifting dynamics involving the US leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s rhetoric towards both men has evolved. It continues to do.
At the start of his second term in January, Trump was conciliatory towards Putin, whom he has long admired. Over time, Trump has expressed growing exasperation with Putin, while he appears to have moderated his criticism of Zelenskyy after their February outburst in the Oval Office.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russia and was suggesting until the fall that Ukraine could win back all the territory lost to Russia. That was a dramatic shift from his repeated calls for Kiev to make concessions to end the war that began with the invasion of Russia in February 2022.
By the end of November, Trump had approved a peace plan favorable to Russia. Some Democratic senators suggested that the proposal was a “wish list” that originated in Moscow and that they had only heard this from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department contested it and Rubio insisted that the plan was written by the United States. American allies in Europe however worried that he was too conciliatory for Russia.
Trump had again berated Zelenskyy in ways that recalled how Trump and Vice President JD Vance had escorted the Ukrainian leader out of the Oval Office months earlier. Trump was now suggesting that Zelenskyy did not seem grateful enough for years of US military support. The Republican President also reprimanded European countries for not doing more to put economic pressure on Russia.
Here’s a look at what Trump has said this year and how his tone has changed:
January 31st
“We must end that war. That war would not have started if I were president.”
Trump said his new administration had already had “very serious” discussions with Russia and that he and Putin could soon take “significant” action to end the conflict.
February 19th
“Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he won’t be a Country.”
Trump’s harsh words for Zelenskyy on his Truth Social platform have drawn criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, where defending Ukraine from Russian aggression has traditionally had bipartisan support. Zelenskyy said Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap. He was quickly warned by Vance about the dangers of publicly criticizing the new president of the United States.
February 28th
“You are playing with the Third World War. And what you are doing is a great disrespect for the country, this country that supported you much more than many people said they should have.”
Trump and Vance chided Zelenskyy about the war, accusing him of showing no gratitude after he challenged Vance on the issue of diplomacy with Putin. The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. This caused the remainder of Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House to be canceled and called into question US support for Ukraine. A few days after the explosion, Trump temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy to seek peace.
March 30th
“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. You’re talking about Putin. I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along.”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he trusted Putin to hold up his end of a potential peace deal.
April 24th
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Unnecessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s do the Peace Agreement!”
In a Truth Social post, Trump reacted to Russia attacking Kyiv with an hours-long barrage of missiles and drones. It was his first rare criticism of Putin as Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine.
29th of April
“Many of his people are dying. They are being killed, and I feel very bad about that.”
Trump addressed the toll on Ukrainians during an interview with ABC News after meeting Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral. It was the first time that the two leaders had met since the Oval Office spat and this indicated a change in Trump’s attitude towards the Ukrainian President.
May 25th
“I always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something happened to him. He went absolutely CRAZY!”
Trump’s Truth Social post made it clear he was losing patience with Putin as Moscow bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles.
June 25th
“He was very nice actually. We had a little hard times, sometimes. He was … He couldn’t be better. I think he would like to see the end of this, I do.”
Trump had a closed door meeting with Zelenskyy during a NATO summit in The Hague. Trump’s comments to reporters later also opened up the possibility of sending Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.
8th of July
“We get a lot of bull —t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. It’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be nonsense.”
Trump also said he was “not happy” with Putin and that the war would “kill a lot of people” on both sides. Trump’s comments during a Cabinet meeting came a day after he said the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine. It was a dramatic reversal after earlier announcing a pause in the delivery of previously approved firepower to Kyiv, a decision taken amid concerns that America’s military stockpiles had run too low.
13th of July
“I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was someone who meant what he said. He will talk so beautifully and then bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”
Trump’s remarks to reporters came as Russia stepped up its airstrikes.
14th of July
“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. It’s been proven over the years. He’s cheated a lot of people before.”
Trump pushed further against Putin during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Trump said that if there is no agreement to end the war within 50 days, the United States will impose “secondary tariffs,” meaning taxes aimed at Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow.
Trump and Rutte also discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons. The European allies planned to buy military equipment and then transfer it to Ukraine.
August 15th
“There is no deal until there is a deal.”
Trump failed to secure an agreement from Putin during a summit in Alaska even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started the war.
Trump wanted to show off his deal-making skills. Instead, it gave Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage after years of Western efforts to make Putin a pariah over his war and crackdown on dissent, and avoided the threat of additional US sanctions.
September 23rd
“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years in a War that should have taken Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is making them very much like a ‘paper tiger.'”
Trump posted on social media shortly after meeting Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting of world leaders.
He also said he believes Ukraine can win back all the territory lost to Russia, a departure from Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine will never be able to recover all the territory Russia has occupied since it seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
October 17th
“Stop the war immediately.”
After hosting Zelenskyy again at the White House, Trump implied that Moscow should be allowed to keep the territory it took from Kyiv if it could help end the conflict more quickly.
“You go through the battle line wherever you are – otherwise it’s too complicated,” Trump said. “You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.”
Trump had a long phone call with Putin the day before Zelenskyy arrived and announced that he planned to meet Putin in Hungary soon. That meeting never happened, partly because of a lack of progress on ending the war.
Trump also indicated to Zelenskyy that the United States would not be selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, which the Ukrainians believed could be a game changer to help Putin get to the negotiating table.
October 22nd
“Hopefully it will become reasonable.”
Trump made the comment suggesting Putin may be more favorable to a peace deal after the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies and their subsidiaries. But Trump added, “And, hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.”
21 November
“He will have to approve it.”
Trump suggested that Zelenskyy would have to accept the US peace plan. Trump pressed Zelenskyy to agree to land concessions to Moscow, a major reduction in the size of Ukraine’s army and an agreement from Europe to assert that Ukraine would never be admitted to the NATO military alliance.
Trump set a deadline of November 27 — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — for Zelenskyy to respond to the plan. Trump also said that more time can be given to Ukraine until progress is made towards lasting peace.
November 22nd
“I would like to reach peace.”
Asked if the peace plan was his final offer, Trump said it was not. He did not elaborate. But his comment suggested he would be willing to negotiate after the November 27 deadline and change the peace plan in ways Ukraine wants. “We’re trying to end it. One way or another, we have to bring it to an end,” Trump said of the war.
Senators from both parties who have been critical of Trump’s approach to ending the war said they spoke with Rubio, who told them that the plan Trump was pushing Kyiv to accept was actually a “wish list” of the Russians.
The State Department called that bill “bogus” and Rubio later took the extraordinary step of insisting that the plan was authored by the United States. But the incident raised more questions about his ultimate fate.
November 23rd
“THE ‘LEADERSHIP’ OF UKRAINE EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.”
In a post on his social media site, Trump went after Zelenskyy and the Europeans once again: “With strong and appropriate US and Ukrainian Leadership” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “NEVER HAPPENED,” Trump said, once again blasting his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for allowing the conflict in Ukraine.