Putin may not want to make a deal on ending Ukraine war, says Trump

US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said today, Aug. 19, he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would move forward toward ending the war in Ukraine, noting that it is possible the Russian leader did not want to make a deal.

“We are going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks ... It is possible that he does not want to make a deal,” Trump told Fox News, adding that Putin could face a “rough situation” if he did not cooperate in the peace process.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed yesterday’s extraordinary summit at the White House with Trump as a “significant step” towards ending Europe’s deadliest conflict in 80 years and towards setting up a trilateral meeting with Putin and the US president in the coming weeks.

However, against the backdrop of Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and a delegation of European leaders in Washington, Russia launched 270 drones and 10 missiles into Ukraine, of which 30 drones and six missiles were intercepted or suppressed — the largest overnight barrage for weeks, Ukraine's air force reported.