President Trump said on Wednesday that “pretty strong words” were used on a phone call with European leaders about Ukraine as the country and its allies have been working to steer him away from his insistence on a resolution to the war that would favor Russia.
“I think we had some little disputes about people, and we’re going to see how it turns out,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House after a phone call with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain.
The European leaders are among officials from about 30 countries supporting Ukraine, known as the “coalition of the willing,” that are scheduled to talk by videoconference on Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelensky. A flurry of recent diplomatic efforts have failed to produce any breakthrough in negotiations to end the war, which started nearly four years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Trump, who has expressed growing impatience with Ukraine and its European allies, did not provide details about what “pretty strong words” had been used on the call. He also said that the European leaders wanted to meet this weekend with Mr. Zelensky and American officials but that “we’ll make a determination depending on what they come back with.”
“We don’t want to be wasting time,” Mr. Trump said. “Sometimes you have to let people fight it out.”
The president added that Mr. Zelensky had to be “realistic,” although he did not elaborate.
As it tries to negotiate peace on more favorable terms, Ukraine is also trying to secure long-term guarantees intended to deter future Russian aggression and a framework for economic cooperation to rebuild the country after the war.
Mr. Zelensky held talks with American officials and business leaders on Wednesday to discuss those rebuilding efforts. Attendees included the U.S. treasury secretary, Scott Bessent; Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law who has been involved in negotiations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to end the war; and Larry Fink, chief executive of the BlackRock investment firm, who has previously been tapped to help coordinate investment to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
In a video address after his talks with the American officials and Mr. Fink, Mr. Zelensky cautioned that reconstruction would become possible only once the country was secure.
“When there is security,” he said, “everything else follows.”
Ukraine faces an increasingly tough battlefield as Russia tries to strengthen its position in negotiations by mounting offensives along the entire front line, with especially heavy fighting reported in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
The Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine cede all of the eastern region of the country, known as the Donbas, a demand that Mr. Zelensky has rejected.
Russian forces are close to capturing Pokrovsk, a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine where the two sides have been fighting since July 2024. The city is largely under Russian control, though Ukrainian forces still hold parts of it.
A Ukrainian army corps responsible for operations in the area said in a social media post on Wednesday that Russian troops had begun an assault that morning under cover of rain and fog, trying to break into the city’s northern section with armored vehicles, cars and motorcycles. The Ukrainian military also released videos showing retaliatory drone strikes against Russian vehicles.
Overnight on Wednesday, Russia also targeted Ukraine infrastructure with 151 drones and three ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian authorities — the latest in a series of Russian bombardments that aim to harm the country’s energy grid. Ukraine also carried out overnight drone strikes on Russia.
Maria Varenikova covers Ukraine and its war with Russia.
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