{"id":132040,"date":"2025-04-01T06:45:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-raises-pressure-on-putin-over-peace-deal-as-russia-accused-of-playing-games-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2025-04-01T06:45:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T06:45:50","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-trump-raises-pressure-on-putin-over-peace-deal-as-russia-accused-of-playing-games-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-raises-pressure-on-putin-over-peace-deal-as-russia-accused-of-playing-games-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Trump raises pressure on Putin over peace deal as Russia accused of 'playing games' – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump has repeated his threat of tariffs on Russian oil if Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to a ceasefire deal – as a European Union official accuses Russia of “playing games”. But our Moscow correspondent suspects the Kremlin thinks Trump is just talking tough. Follow the latest.
Tuesday 1 April 2025 07:45, UK
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By Ivor Bennett<\/a>, Moscow correspondent<\/b>
The Kremlin was careful not to take the bait when asked about Donald Trump’s “anger” towards Vladimir Putin. 
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov deployed his trademark technique of downplay, deflect, dismiss.
“The statements were given in paraphrase, they were not quoted” he said, appearing to question the accuracy of the reports that the American president was “pissed off” with Putin.
“Several different statements were made,” he added.
It’s certainly true that a retort could have risked provoking Trump and I think that was a consideration of Peskov. 
Primarily, though, I think his response reveals a lack of concern from the Kremlin right now at America’s apparent annoyance.
That\u2019s immediately clear on state TV. The morning news bulletin on the ‘Russia 1’ channel, for example, didn’t mention Trump’s criticism of Putin whatsoever. The only reference to the US president regarded his threats towards Volodymyr Zelenskyy, if Ukraine pulls out of the mineral deal with Washington.
Do Trump’s actions speak louder than his words?<\/b>
I think this is because, despite Trump’s tough words, his actions towards Moscow remain soft and friendly. 
According to the Kremlin, the US and Russia have begun talks on their own joint rare earth projects, with some US firms already expressing interest.
It makes one wonder – how genuine is the American president’s anger?
On the one hand, his comments could reflect a growing frustration at the lack of progress towards a ceasefire. 
So far, Putin still hasn’t made any kind of concessions.
Watch below: Who benefits from Black Sea ceasefire?<\/b>
On the other hand, however, it may just be an attempt to appear even-handed. 
Trump’s barbs towards Zelenskyy, and praise of Putin, have led to accusations that he’s pro-Russian, and being played by the Kremlin. 
This might just be an attempt to shake those accusations.
Either way, for now at least, Russia doesn’t seem too fussed.
 Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone last night, discussing the “real momentum” behind efforts to secure long-term security for Ukraine.
It was also revealed that a meeting of British, French and Ukrainian military leadership would take place “in the coming days” to drive forward “the next stage of detailed planning”.
That follows the latest meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris last week – a group of 31 countries working to end the war in Ukraine.
After that meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plan for a “reassurance force” in Ukraine to act a a security guarantee and be deployed the day after a peace deal.
Bucha anniversary marked<\/b>
Starmer and Zelenskyy also discussed the third anniversary of Ukraine’s liberation of Bucha – a town near Kyiv – from Russian forces.
The town became associated with allegations of war crimes against Russia during its illegal invasion of Ukraine. 
A UN report<\/a> in December 2022 found that Russian troops executed civilians in Bucha. 
The report documented the killing of at least 73 civilians, including 16 women and three children.
Russia has been accused of delaying a ceasefire and “playing games” by a host of European foreign ministers.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia is “not really wanting peace” – adding the key question is now over how more pressure can be put on Russia.
Meanwhile, Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski called for a form of deadline for Russia to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine.
That’s after Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested 20 April is a “good time for a complete ceasefire without any conditions”.
Stubb spoke to Sky News<\/a> after playing golf with Donald Trump at the weekend – and suggested the US president is losing patience with Putin.
Watch the interview below<\/i>
It’s not the first time Putin has been accused by Ukraine and its Western allies of not being serious about ending the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
And Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also repeatedly said Russian attacks on his country show Putin doesn’t want to end the war.
We heard more from Donald Trump overnight after his comments over being “very angry” and “pissed off” with Vladimir Putin for criticising Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s credibility.
Speaking to reporters inside the Oval Office, Trump said he wants to see the Russian president follow through and make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
He also said he doesn’t want to have to move forward with secondary tariffs – something he’s threatened to impose on buyers of Russian oil.
However, even as the US president reiterated to reporters he was disappointed with Putin, he still made positive noises, adding: “I think we are making progress, step by step.” 
Trump’s latest comments come after we also heard from the Kremlin yesterday, which said Putin remains “absolutely open” to contact with the US president.
“Their conversation will be promptly organised when needed,” it added.
Good morning and welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.
We’ll be resuming our live updates shortly – but first, here’s a summary of the past 24 hours:
We’ll taking a pause on our coverage of the war in Ukraine.
But you can follow more updates on any reaction to Donald Trump’s comments about Vladimir Putin in our US coverage here…
Russia has said Vladimir Putin remains “absolutely open” to contact with Donald Trump.
Reacting to comments made by the US leader yesterday, the Kremlin said a conversation between Trump and Putin “can be arranged as needed”. 
But no call had been scheduled so far for this week.
On Trump’s comments that he was “pissed off” with Putin, the Kremlin said: “The statements were given in paraphrase, they were not quoted. That is the first thing.”
They also said that Russia and the US were working on unspecified ideas on a possible peace settlement in Ukraine.
“The president remains absolutely open to contacts with President Trump, so their conversation will be promptly organised when needed,” the Kremlin added.
We reported earlier on comments made by Trump over the weekend in which he said he was “very angry” and “pissed off” after Putin criticised the credibility of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone call with Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News.
Trump said the Russian president’s recent comments, calling for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine in a move that could effectively push out Zelenskyy, were “not going in the right direction”.
Russia’s defence ministry has shared images of soldiers carrying out military exercises at an undisclosed location. 
Fighting in Ukraine is focused on the eastern flank, which Russia wants to capture entirely.
But neither side has been able to make much progress.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops have been progressing in Russia’s Belgorod region.
A US armoured vehicle that went missing in Lithuania has been retrieved from a swamp after a six-day search – but there is still no information about the four American soldiers who were on board, Lithuanian officials have said.
Last week we brought you reports of a search that was under way after four US army soldiers went missing in a training area in eastern Lithuania, near the border with Belarus.
The soldiers were on a training exercise at the General Silvestras Zukauskas training ground in the town of Pabrade when the group and their vehicle were reported missing.
Now, Lithuania’s defence minister Dovile Sakaliene has said an armoured vehicle was pulled ashore and police were continuing with their search. 
Donald Trump’s words reflect an “even-handedness” that has been lacking when it comes to Vladimir Putin, our US correspondent James Matthews<\/b><\/a> says.
Matthews explains that what it upsetting Trump is Putin’s intervention at the end of last week in which he questioned the legitimacy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said a peace agreement brokered by Zelenskyy could in the future be challenged.
“Trump doesn’t see that as productive in terms of progress towards peace and he has threatened Russia with further sanctions if he thinks Russia is holding up a peace agreement,” Matthews says.
With Trump threatening to impose 50% tariffs on Russian oil, Matthews says: “This is a rebuke for Putin – the likes of which we haven’t heard from Trump, who himself has undermined the credibility of Ukraine’s president.
“This is ultimately a two-way negotiation for America and this from Trump has the sound at least of an even-handedness that has been lacking from the US president.”
Be the first to get Breaking News<\/span>
Install the Sky News app for free<\/p>\n

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