President Donald Trump has shifted his diplomatic focus squarely to ending Russia's war in Ukraine, declaring Iran a problem he has already solved. Following what he described as a productive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Group of Seven summit in France this week, Trump signaled he intends to channel energy into brokering a resolution to the conflict that has consumed the continent for more than four years.
The Iran agreement, Trump said, will soon be "in the rearview mirror." With that framework deal signed, he told reporters he would pursue Ukraine with renewed vigor, saying he would do "whatever I can" to help end the war and pressing Russia to negotiate.
European leaders have spent months trying to keep Trump's attention on Ukraine as fighting intensified and Moscow launched devastating strikes on Kyiv. The president's renewed focus is precisely what they wanted to hear. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said G7 members detected a shift in momentum, suggesting Ukraine was seizing back control of the battlefield narrative.
That momentum reflects tangible military gains. Ukraine has demonstrated the capacity to inflict serious damage on Russian forces, using drones and missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia. Moscow, meanwhile, has pledged "systematic" attacks on the capital. Early Monday, Russian strikes ignited a historic monastery in Kyiv, underscoring the brutal calculus at play.
Trump's comments suggest a more measured tone than previous diplomatic attempts. In earlier months, he had repeatedly pushed Ukraine to surrender territory and accept Moscow's demands, stalling any real progress toward a deal. On Tuesday, his rhetoric sounded different. "Russia should make a deal," he said, acknowledging losses on both sides. "Russia's lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine."
Zelenskyy is pressing for a fundamentally different approach this time. European allies must be included at the negotiating table, he has insisted, a sharp departure from last year's U.S.-dominated process that largely excluded Europe. That demand complicates matters. Russia has fiercely resisted any role for European negotiators, and underlying tensions between Washington and its European partners add another layer of friction.
The framework for actual talks remains murky. Zelenskyy claimed Monday that he had offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit or in the United States. The Kremlin swiftly dismissed that overture. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no official invitation for Putin to attend the G7, and emphasized Russia's standing offer for Zelenskyy to meet in Moscow, a condition the Ukrainian leader has previously rejected.
Trump's formal meeting with Zelenskyy did not appear on his initial G7 schedule. Video footage showed French President Emmanuel Macron practically orchestrating an encounter during a walkway conversation with Zelenskyy, asking whether a bilateral with Trump had been arranged. The two ultimately met as a trio, according to a U.S. official, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Zelenskyy posted afterward that "substantive meetings have already begun" and that coordinating positions remained "always important."
Trump has made grand promises about ending Ukraine's war before. During his campaign, he pledged to resolve the conflict in 24 hours once in office. Those early diplomatic pushes went nowhere, undermined by his willingness to pressure Kyiv into territorial concessions that neither Ukraine nor its allies found acceptable.
Whether this latest pivot reflects genuine diplomatic intent or another false start remains to be seen. Peskov said American negotiators might travel to Moscow "soon," though no firm dates exist. The U.S. is still preoccupied with finalizing the Iran deal, he added, a signal that Ukraine, despite Trump's stated refocus, may still compete for bandwidth.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Trump's sudden interest in Ukraine feels genuine in the moment, but his track record of pushing Kyiv toward surrender should make European allies nervous about what 'deal' actually means on his terms."
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