United States Donald Trump Escalates Discussions on Ukraine Conflict

Since his victory in the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump has ramped up his discussions on the war in Ukraine. The Washington Post even reported a conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just two days after the election. Citing anonymous sources, the paper revealed that Trump urged Putin not to escalate the situation in Ukraine.

The Kremlin acknowledged on Sunday that during the campaign, Trump had sent "positive signals" regarding the conflict, suggesting the possibility of "peace" and refraining from any indication of a desire to deliver a "strategic defeat" to Russia.

According to the Washington Post, Trump and Putin discussed the goal of achieving peace in Europe, with Trump expressing his hope for follow-up talks to address the resolution of the war in Ukraine soon. During this initial phone conversation since Trump's election victory, Trump also reminded Putin of the substantial U.S. military presence in Europe.

Trump's Conversation with Zelensky

A vocal critic of the billions of dollars allocated by the U.S. to Ukraine, Trump had also held a call on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with billionaire Elon Musk participating. Zelensky described the call as "excellent" and agreed to maintain close dialogue with Trump. However, according to a Ukrainian source, the conversation did not delve into substantial matters, being more of a cordial exchange.

Foreign policy issues are expected to be discussed during a meeting between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 13, in the Oval Office, marking the beginning of the power transition. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that the U.S. would spend the remaining six billion dollars allocated to Ukraine before the new president takes office on January 20.

During his campaign, Trump frequently claimed he could end the war in Ukraine "in one day," though he never provided specifics on how this would be achieved. It is likely that such a resolution would involve an agreement in which Ukraine cedes part of its territory to Russia—a proposal that Ukraine has firmly rejected. According to the Washington Post, this issue may have been raised during Trump’s conversation with Putin.

On Saturday, Donald Trump Jr. shared an Instagram post featuring a photo of Zelensky alongside his father. The caption read, "POV: You are 38 days away from losing your funding," referencing the billions the U.S. has spent supporting Kyiv.