Russia Doesn’t Want Peace, US Says, As Europe Imposes New Sanctions Against Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t ready to end the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump told European leaders this week, saying that “Vladimir doesn’t want peace,” because he thinks he’s winning, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.  

Senior European officials told the newspaper that Trump also said he believed Putin ultimately desired peace, albeit on Russia’s terms. “The Europeans’ takeaway was that Trump didn’t believe that a near-term peace deal was in the offing and that the war was Europe’s problem,” the newspaper wrote.  

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt disputed these accounts, saying in an email to the newspaper that Trump “did say he believes Putin is winning the war BUT he NEVER said ‘Putin isn’t ready to end war.’”  

The discussion Monday with European leaders was held to brief the US allies on Trump’s phone call with Putin the previous day. The Monday call, which included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and also Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, capped a 10-day European diplomatic campaign to persuade the US president to increase pressure on the Kremlin. 

However, Trump has backed off his earlier statements that the Russian president was ready to negotiate or his demand for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine which, if Putin didn’t agree, would lead to new sanctions on Russia. 

Meanwhile, European leaders have long said they don’t believe that Russia wants peace unless it gets significant territory that belongs to Ukraine.  

As a result, while the US has held back on new sanctions on Russia, the European Union and the United Kingdom imposed new measures this week, NBC News reported.  

On Tuesday, the EU and UK unveiled a new series of sanctions targeting nearly 200 vessels belonging to Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet” and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and companies linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

The measures – part of the EU’s 17th sanctions package since the 2022 invasion – aimed to disrupt illicit oil exports and the financing of Russia’s military. 

According to Ukrainian sources and foreign analysts, the shadow fleet is made up of more than 400 vessels, many of which are aging, poorly maintained, and operate under unclear ownership structures. 

Some of these ships have allegedly participated in transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, while others have come under suspicion of damaging critical European infrastructure, such as undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, the Associated Press wrote. 

The new sanctions came in direct response to Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities over the weekend.  

British and EU officials say the sanctions would “ramp up pressure” on the Kremlin and punish entities supporting Russia’s military, energy exports and disinformation campaigns.  

However, Russia dismissed the sanctions, with officials saying Moscow would never bow to “ultimatums.”