Trump Tells EU Leaders: Putin Doesn’t Want Peace

The Daily Beast reports:

President Donald Trump has changed his opinion on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stance on Ukraine — again. Trump admitted the Russian leader is not ready to end his war in Ukraine because he believes he is winning during a call with European leaders on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

It is the first time Trump has confirmed Putin is not seeking to end the conflict, despite frequently stating publicly that he believes the Russian despot genuinely wants peace.

European leaders had thought the two-hour call on Monday would be used by Trump to force Putin to negotiate a ceasefire by threatening Moscow with new sanctions. Trump’s move to abandon efforts to put himself at the centre of any talks “surprised” European leaders, according to reports. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly boasted that if elected he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine within “one day”.

Read the full article. White House spokesliar Karoline Leavitt is denying the WSJ report even though many European leaders heard Trump on the call, during which he contradicted his Monday post on Truth Social.