The US has talked about the impossibility of a ceasefire in Ukraine

At the beginning of his second cadence, Trump and his advisers intended to achieve a full ceasefire in Ukraine by April or May and make a lasting peace in the following months, Reuters reported.

Neither of those goals appears achievable yet, raising the risk of a protracted war and the need for additional Western support for Ukraine's military operations.

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But no agreement looks imminent, officials said, raising the possibility that the three-year war will drag on and Ukraine will need more Western support for its military operations.

Senior U.S. officials have complained privately for weeks about Kiev's handling of the talks and what they see as resistance to an agreement with Washington over minerals and to advancing peace talks. But in recent days, sources said, officials have grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow.

After a series of talks over the weekend, officials at the White House and the U.S. State Department acknowledged that Putin is actively resisting Washington's efforts to reach a lasting peace deal and discussed economic and diplomatic pressure to push Russia toward an agreement.

Trump has said for weeks that he trusts the Russian dictator and believes he is committed to peace, but in recent days the White House has been wary of Putin's intentions, sources said, although Trump continues to publicly demonstrate his belief in what Putin wants.

It is unclear what specific plans the administration may have to pressure Moscow, but a senior U.S. official said the White House continues to consider additional tariffs and sanctions it may impose on Russia.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow could not accept U.S. proposals to end the war in their current form because they do not address the issues that the Kremlin says allegedly caused the outbreak of the war.

Photo: finbalance.com.ua.

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