After Russia initially invaded Ukraine three years ago, President Donald Trump has entered the negotiating process of creating a truce between the two countries. However, despite the public talks of a ceasefire, minimal progress has been made.
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been occurring ever since Ukraine became an independent country in 1991. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, claimed that Ukraine still belonged to Russia, leading to a militarized invasion on Feb 24, 2022, leading to the illegal annexation of regions in Ukraine and further escalating the conflict. The verified civilian deaths have risen to 13,883 as of July 2025, but the death toll is believed to be higher due to difficulty monitoring casualties.
“I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine,” said President Trump at a meeting with European leaders. “But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that is very attainable. And it can be done in the near future.”
Various meetings have taken place between Trump, Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine with the intention of reaching a peace agreement. Despite the consistent assurances, a conclusion has not yet been reached due to territorial control. Primary examples of President Putin’s desired land consists of the Donbas, Crimea, as well as certain areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. However, Ukraine is not willing to yield their land to Russia. As a result, a resolution has not been found.
“Putin has no interest in ending the war. He started it by invading Ukraine in 2022, and he is happy to continue attacking Ukraine for as long as the talks drag on, as his forces gradually advance deeper and deeper into Ukraine. Putin is quite content to string along Trump as long as he can, going through the motions of negotiating while having no intentions of living up to any agreement,” said John Raybourn, AP government teacher.
Due to fear of escalating the conflict into a world war, the involvement from other countries have been limited to supplies, which is a key factor in the continuation of the war even after both leaders agreed to a potential treaty.
“We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Unwilling to join the conflict, many countries have left Ukraine and Russia to work out an agreement on their own. This has left both sides dissatisfied with what they see as unbalanced agreements. However, because Ukraine is unwilling to give up any land, this amplifies the war even with Trump attempting to negotiate between the countries.
“It seems to me that if common sense ultimately prevails it is possible to agree on an acceptable way to end this conflict. If not then we will have to solve all the tasks set before us by military means,” said Vladimir Putin, Russian president.
Even with involvement from Trump in the settlement process, Putin continues to send attacks to Ukraine. With the current conditions of the war, Ukraine is faced with the choice of either surrendering their land or responding to the conflict.
“I would definitely not say that Trump’s involvement is leading to a positive outcome,” Raybourn said. “The longer the deliberations drag on, the more deeply Russia advances into Ukraine, and the more Putin attacks civilian targets in Ukraine. [President] Trump does not seem to understand what most western leaders recognize – that Putin has no interest in ending the war.”
