NYT: The United States could decide “in a matter of days” to “move on” from trying to end the Ukrainian war

Many thought President Trump would be able to finish the war. Now they are not so sure, ‘The New York Times’ notes. For now, the increasingly blunt warnings from Mr. Trump and his lieutenants that they could run out of patience have had little effect.

On Saturday, Mr. Putin declared a one-day “Easter truce,” a tactic that appeared aimed at showing that Russia was still interested in peace. Mr. Putin claimed that Kyiv’s response would shed light on Ukraine’s “desire, and, indeed, its ability” to take part in negotiations to end the war.

Given Mr. Trump’s lack of sympathy for Ukraine and his deepening conflict with American allies, Mr. Putin appears to be only gaining in confidence that Russia can eventually defeat Ukraine in a war of attrition. The Kremlin is dangling the possibility of lucrative American business deals in Russia in the hopes of appealing to Mr. Trump no matter what happens on the battlefield.

The top American diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said on Friday that the United States could decide “in a matter of days” to “move on” from trying to end the war. Mr. Trump said later that “if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult,” the United States could decide that “we’re just going to take a pass.”

But the Kremlin has stayed steadfast in signaling that it’s in no hurry for a deal, while claiming to remain “open for dialogue.” Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former president, on Friday spoke for his country’s pro-war commentariat in posting that Moscow wouldn’t mind if the United States walked away from Ukraine, because “then Russia will figure it out faster.”

Mr. Putin has said little about the war in public since a visit to an Arctic submarine last month in which he claimed Russia was ready to “finish them off,” referring to Ukraine. He was host to a Trump envoy, Steve Witkoff, this month for their third hourslong meeting since February. American and Russian officials have met for in-person talks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States.

Some Russians say they believe that the impatience voiced by the White House is driven by American politics, given Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to end the war quickly, and that a compromise remains possible. Feodor Voitolovsky, director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow, said that he had been surprised by Washington’s “naïveté” about how fast peace could be achieved but that both countries were “at the beginning of the road” to getting there.

“Russia is not going to sacrifice its interests or its security in order to help Trump solve his domestic political problems,” Mr. Voitolovsky said in a phone interview.

If the United States does walk away from the Ukraine talks, he said, “Russia will have to create the conditions for a diplomatic process” with “new uses of force.”

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