US officials accuse Europe of prolonging Russia's war in Ukraine, Axios reports
Senior White House officials have allegedly accused some European leaders of prolonging Russia's war in Ukraine, Axios reported in an exclusive scoop on Aug. 30.
According to Axios, U.S. officials have grown increasingly impatient with European leaders, whom they allege are pushing Ukraine to hold out for a "better deal."
"The Europeans don't get to prolong this war and backdoor unreasonable expectations, while also expecting America to bear the cost," a senior White House official told Axios.
"If Europe wants to escalate this war, that will be up to them. But they will be hopelessly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory."
Trump is also considering whether to step back from diplomatic efforts until one or both sides demonstrates greater flexibility, a White House official told Axios.
"We are going to sit back and watch. Let them fight it out for a while and see what happens," the official said.
While U.S. officials reportedly "sit back and watch," Moscow has unrelented in its attacks on Ukraine. Just two days prior, Russia launched a large-scale aerial strike on Ukrainian cities on Aug. 28. Twenty-five people, including four children, were killed in Kyiv.
The Trump administration has increasingly taken a "both sides" approach in its rhetoric regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Most recently, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt drew a comparison between Russia's attacks on civilians with Ukraine's strikes on legitimate military targets.
Despite months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts, Trump has not taken any concrete steps to pressure Moscow to stop fighting, while his administration paused military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine at various points. Trump himself publicly criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky but welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to American shores, rolling out the red carpet for him in Anchorage, Alaska just earlier this month.
The White House has also asked the U.S. Treasury Department to prepare a list of sanctions that Europe could impose on Russia, Axios reported. The list includes a total ban on Russian oil and gas purchases and EU tariffs on India and China, similar to those already levied by the U.S.
The European Union is already preparing more sanctions against Russia, however, and has imposed 18 sanctions packages since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Trump administration, on the other hand, has yet to impose sanctions on Russia and even temporarily lifted sanctions to facilitate the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska on Aug. 15.
