Irina Nesterova18:55, 03.12.25

The publication analyzes what the US might do next in the war in Ukraine.

The lack of progress in peace talks is fueling concerns in Europe and Ukraine that the US could withdraw from the peace process and reduce its support for Kyiv, according to The Telegraph .

The article notes that US President Donald Trump finds himself between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the vast and seemingly unshakable Russia, and the hard place is Ukraine and the European countries that firmly support it.

The publication recalled that Trump promised to resolve the war within 24 hours of taking office, although he later extended this deadline to 100 days. But nearly 317 days have passed since his second inauguration, and the war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing.

Now that US Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned from Russia without any results in peace talks, the US must decide on its next steps, the article says.Read also:

The author of the article believes that the most logical outcome would be the use of “stick” against one of the parties to the conflict. After all, the US president has previously used similar tactics to force Kyiv to make concessions. But Trump has already done the same with Moscow, so it’s difficult to predict his next move.

On the one hand, the White House may return to the strategy Ukraine and Europe expect of it: increasing pressure on Putin to negotiate in good faith. After all, this is precisely what previously compelled the Russian president to return to the negotiating process. This was in response to Trump’s announcement of his willingness to sell long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Also, around the same time, Washington imposed the first new sanctions since Joe Biden’s presidency – against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, the author notes.

But the day after his phone call with the Russian dictator, Trump told Zelensky at the White House that he was not prepared to sell Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Apparently, the article suggests, Putin was satisfied with the promise to work on a peace agreement, and that was enough to avoid any undesirable consequences for Moscow.

What might be Trump’s next steps regarding the war in Ukraine?

“In the coming days, Ukraine and its European allies will quietly urge Trump to reconsider this strategy in hopes of increasing pressure on the Kremlin to consider the latest peace plan. However, the US president is notoriously impatient,” the publication states.

The publication claims that there is a real possibility that the president will decide to step away from peace talks to focus on more important domestic priorities, such as immigration or foreign policy challenges.

In the past, The Telegraph points out, similar White House decisions, or even a simple lack of funding, have had disastrous consequences for Ukrainian troops on the front lines. Therefore, Ukraine and Europe hope that Trump will not follow this path.

There is also a view that European leaders, in particular NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, will once again have to resort to diplomatic “appeasement” and demonstrate a willingness to invest additional funds in the American defense industry through arms purchases for Ukraine.

Peace Negotiations: Expert Opinions

As UNIAN previously reported, retired senior American diplomat Daniel Fried believes that US-Russian negotiations on Ukraine have failed . The expert believes that the Trump administration’s approach to resolving the war in Ukraine is haphazard, and the US negotiating tactics are woefully inadequate. According to the diplomat, the US approach gave the Russian dictator’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, the opportunity to win the negotiations twice—at the initial stage and during the negotiations themselves. Moreover, differences within the Trump administration between those who are more supportive of Ukraine and those who are less so have become apparent.

The Washington Post, citing analysts, reported that Putin’s meeting with Whitkoff had only one goal : to convince the Americans to increase pressure on Ukraine and force it to capitulate. Expert Vladimir Pastukhov noted that the Russian dictator is not someone who wants peace at any cost, so for now he is only willing to end the war on terms that suit him.

(C)UNIAN 2025