Trump Urges Russia to Accelerate Ukraine Ceasefire Efforts Amid Rising Casualties

U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized on Friday that Russia must «take action» to initiate ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, as his special envoy was set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later that day in St. Petersburg.

“Russia needs to act. Too many people are DYING, thousands each week,” Trump expressed in a message posted on Truth Social.

His impatience regarding the slow progress on his promise to conclude the war has intensified, especially as Moscow has made further demands for a ceasefire. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of breaching a fragile lull in attacks on energy infrastructure.

Earlier, Axios reported that Trump might consider implementing new sanctions against Russia if a ceasefire in Ukraine is not achieved by the end of April.

In his statement, where he referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as «a tragic and meaningless war,» Trump made the comments during a visit by his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was set to meet with Putin.

Earlier on the same day, Witkoff met with Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy for international economic cooperation and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

On Thursday, Russia released Ksenia Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, in a prisoner exchange with the United States in Abu Dhabi. She was exchanged for Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian national arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of U.S. authorities for purportedly exporting sensitive U.S.-made microelectronics to Russia.

On Friday, Trump shared a video of Karelina thanking him personally for facilitating her release, adding in the post, “Glad to have you back home.”