US President Donald Trump said that Russian President Putin is supposedly ready for a deal to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky should “pull himself together” and “make a deal.”
Trump said this in an interview with Politico.
When Trump was asked what exactly was standing in the way of Zelensky's path to a peace deal, he declined to elaborate, but claimed that the Ukrainian leader was not showing sufficient willingness to negotiate.
“I think Putin is ready to make a deal. It's unthinkable that Zelensky would be an obstacle. He has no cards. Now he has even fewer cards,” President Trump said.
In January 2026, Trump stated that Ukraine, not Russia, was currently holding up a potential agreement to end the war.
In Trump's view, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to end the war.
“I think he [Putin] is ready to make a deal. I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal,” Trump said.