British News Agency

During a dinner at the White House on Thursday evening with the leaders of Central Asian countries, Trump was once again praised for "ending eight wars in eight months" and expressed hope to add one more to the list. “We’re looking at another war — possibly Russia and Ukraine. We haven’t succeeded yet, but I think we’ve made great progress,” he said.

This comes as Ukrainian forces face the risk of being surrounded by Russian troops in the regions of Odessa, Kupiansk, and Pokrovsk. The U.S. president pledged to mediate an end to the Ukraine war and has repeatedly voiced his frustration with the ongoing stalemate.

On Wednesday, at an American business forum, Trump said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is interested in finding a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war, which will enter its fourth year in 2025.

His special envoy Steve Witkoff, recalling numerous face-to-face meetings with Putin this year, also noted signs of progress. “For leaders to reach an agreement, technical teams need to have a lot of dialogue at lower levels. But today I feel there has been some progress,” Witkoff said.

Moscow has repeatedly praised Donald Trump for his efforts to end the crisis. Russia has also called for a permanent solution instead of a temporary ceasefire, arguing that such a truce would allow Kyiv to regroup and rearm.

Last month, Moscow announced that its forces had surrounded around 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in several key strongholds. Putin urged Kyiv to accept the “honorable surrender” of the besieged troops.