After one of Russia's largest attacks on Kyiv, European allies tried to convince Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace, writes Politico.
In a flurry of social media posts aimed at an audience of one, they pointed out that the Russian attack of several hundred missiles and drones is proof that Putin is not sincere in his peace proposals.
"Russia does not intend to end this war," wrote Finnish President Alex Stubb in his post on site X.
"This is Russia's idea of peace, terror and barbarism," stated French President Emmanuel Macron.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking to the press before a meeting with Macron in southern France, stated that "a meeting between President Zelensky and President Putin is clearly not going to happen."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer directly accused Putin, who, according to him, "is killing children and civilians and sabotaging hopes for peace."
However, on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear that the attack on the Ukrainian capital, which resulted in at least 23 deaths, was a quite understandable response to Ukraine's attack on Russian refineries over the past month.
Trump "was not pleased with this move, but he was also not surprised," said Leavitt, reiterating that the president wants the bloodshed to stop, but blamed both countries for the lack of progress in negotiations. "These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time. Russia began this attack on Kyiv, and similarly, Ukraine recently struck Russian refineries," reported the White House Press Secretary, adding that "perhaps both sides of this war are not ready for it to end," said Leavitt.
Donald Trump has yet to respond to the Russian attack.