Trump Acknowledges Ukraine War’s Complexity, Suggesting Limited U.S. Role
Following a two-hour conversation with Vladimir Putin on Monday, Donald Trump surprisingly stated that only Russia and Ukraine should be involved in discussions to end their conflict. He mentioned on social media that “they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.” This acknowledgment of unfamiliarity seemed unlike the President, who often about numerous topics, and it might have shifted the peace process in a new, unpredictable direction.
Putin has likely seen Trump’s limited understanding of the war as an advantage. A favored negotiating strategy of the Russian leader involves overwhelming counterparts with numerous historical theories and carefully chosen facts. Ukrainian officials and European allies have attempted to educate Trump about the war’s complexities and history, but they’ve often encountered a lack of knowledge about Ukraine within the Trump administration.
According to a Western official who has frequently discussed Ukraine at the White House, “They’re not read-in on a lot of the background.” A Ukrainian diplomat expressed similar frustration, saying the U.S. approach under Trump has a “messianic attitude,” where “they know everything and don’t want to hear anything.”
The Trump team’s factual inaccuracies have been apparent. On Monday, Trump reportedly told European leaders that Ukraine and Russia should begin ceasefire talks “immediately.” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian President, pointed out that these talks had already started on May 16 in Istanbul. According to Axios, Trump’s memory lapse caused a moment of “puzzled silence.”
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s main envoy to Ukraine and Russia, has displayed similar confusion. In a March interview, he struggled to name the regions affected by the war, saying, “These so-called four regions… Donbas, Crimea… You know the names.”
Witkoff, a real estate magnate without formal diplomatic experience, has met with Putin several times this year. The difference in their knowledge about Ukraine has been significant. Putin often lectures guests for hours on his view of the war’s historical origins. Before the 2022 invasion, Putin lectured Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, who found it hard to follow.
Scholz told TIME that spring, “It was a really bad experience to have this long debate with Putin… And I was really arguing with him, saying: Please understand, if politicians start to look at history books, at where their borders had been before, then we will have only wars for hundreds of years.”
Putin has long used nationalist and imperialist narratives to justify his actions, frequently referencing historical texts he reportedly studies extensively. When asked about invading Ukraine last year, Tucker Carlson recalled, “Putin went on for a very long time, probably half an hour, about the history of Russia going back to the eighth century… And honestly, we thought this was a filibustering technique and found it annoying and interrupted him several times.”
To counter this technique during negotiations, one needs a strong grasp of facts, which few in the White House seem to have. During his first term, Trump intelligence reports, so the intelligence community condensed information onto a single sheet with visual aids. Since returning to office, he has attended fewer than a dozen President’s Daily Brief presentations, significantly less than usual, according to Politico.
To improve Trump’s understanding of Ukraine, Zelensky has repeatedly invited him and his aides to visit the country and witness the war firsthand. None have accepted. In February, Vice President J.D. Vance declined, telling Zelensky he wasn’t interested in a “propaganda tour.”
According to U.S. officials, this lack of interest from the White House has often frustrated diplomats responsible for informing Trump’s decisions. The U.S. embassy in Kyiv would typically be the President’s primary source of on-the-ground information. However, Ambassador Bridget Brink has struggled to gain influence within the White House. Brink resigned last month after nearly three years in Kyiv during the full-scale war.
She last week that “Unfortunately, the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia,” in regards to her decision to resign.
Following Trump’s call with Putin, the White House may no longer be interested in pressuring either side to end the war. Trump didn’t threaten Russia with sanctions for refusing a ceasefire, nor did he promise further U.S. involvement in the peace process.
He in the Oval Office that “It’s not our people, it’s not our soldiers… It’s Ukraine and it’s Russia.” The American effort to broker peace has not produced the quick and easy victory Trump promised. In short, it’s proven more complicated than he initially believed.