U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Speaking to CNN on May 10, Peskov commented on the latest ceasefire proposal from Ukraine and Europe, responding that Russia needs to "think about" it, but is "resistant" to pressure.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the idea of a demilitarized zone in the war and emphasized the importance of first securing a ceasefire.
"We agreed that a full and unconditional ceasefire must begin on Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. We jointly demand this from Russia, and we know we are supported in this by the United States," Zelensky said.
Ukrainian media outlet ZN.UA reported on May 10 that their law enforcement sources confirmed an ongoing probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau into suspected embezzlement, money laundering and bribery.
Iran is preparing to send Russia Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile launchers, Reuters reported on May 9, citing Western security and regional officials familiar with the matter.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Russia and Ukraine will be able to "do big business" with the United States if they secure a peace deal in the next week, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post on April 20.
Trump's comments come shortly after he threatened to pull U.S. support from the peace process altogether if either Russia or Ukraine caused negotiations to stall.
"Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune."
Trump's post was published on Easter Sunday, amid what was supposed to be a temporary ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 19 declared an "Easter truce," promising to halt all combat operations until midnight on April 21.
Russia has since violated the truce over 2,000 times, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine and the U.S. both called on Putin to extend the truce beyond Easter and impose a complete 30-day ceasefire. According to Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Putin gave no such order.
Zelensky later on April 20 proposed a 30-day ban on long-range missile and drone strikes against civilian infrastructure, noting that Russia had managed to halt aerial attacks against Ukraine on Easter.
Some European leaders expressed skepticism at Putin's Easter truce, with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky calling it a "media stunt" designed to appease an increasingly impatient Trump.
Trump told reporters on April 18 that he was ready to "take a pass" on negotiating a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.
"If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're just going to take a pass. But hopefully we won't have to do that," he said.
Earlier that day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would abandon its negotiation efforts in the coming days if there was no progress on an agreement.
The comments represent an abrupt about-face for the Trump administration, which has made a Ukraine-Russia peace deal a priority since the Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump spent the months leading up to his election promising to end the war in 24 hours and has repeatedly boasted about his ability to secure a deal.
Business interests have played a key role in Trump's approach to both Ukraine and Russia.
Since Trump took office, Washington has taken steps to normalize relations with Moscow, emphasizing strengthened economic ties. Following a phone call between Trump and Putin on March 18, the Kremlin said the leaders were interested in developing "mutually beneficial cooperation" in a number of sectors. The White House later touted the potential for "enormous economic deals" between the two countries.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on April 15 that "economic partnerships" with the U.S. could serve as an incentive for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
The Trump administration is also pursuing a minerals deal with Kyiv that would give the U.S. broad control over revenues from Ukraine's natural resources — something Washington claims it deserves in return for military aid provided to Kyiv. The U.S. maintains the agreement would help protect Ukraine against Russian aggression, though it includes no security guarantees.
Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.
Nina L. Khrushcheva
