"Unfathomable": Trump On 'Hatred' Between Zelensky, Putin Amid US Truce Efforts

US President Donald Trump, who once claimed he could stop the war between Russia and Ukraine within hours, claims the hatred between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is "unfathomable" amid American peace efforts. The Republican leader also labelled Russia the aggressor in the war, further demonstrating his hardening stance toward Moscow.

"I stopped seven wars - I thought this was going to be an easy one for me, but this has turned out to be a tough one," he told reporters on Monday.

"The hatred between Zelensky and Putin is unfathomable ... they hate each other so much, they can't breathe. They hate each other so much, they almost can't talk. They're incapable of talking to each other."

On his campaign trail in 2023 and 2024 before the presidential election, the Republican leader, on multiple occasions, said he would end the war in Ukraine either within 24 hours of his return to the White House or even sooner than that. But his peace efforts haven't borne fruit in nine months since he came to power. 

So far, Trump has refused to directly condemn Russia for the invasion, with his administration even siding with Putin in February to reject a UN motion backing Ukraine's territorial integrity and condemning Moscow.

But that seems to be changing now amid Trump's frustration with Putin over the prolonged war. On Sunday, referring to Ukrainian and Russian troop casualties, Trump said, "8,000 soldiers have died this week, from both countries. Some more from Russia, but when you're the aggressor, you lose more."

He also warned that Washington may be forced to take tougher steps if Moscow continues to stall peace talks. He said he was ready to sanction Moscow, but on the condition that all NATO allies agree to completely halt purchases of Russian oil and implement their own sanctions.