Trump Browbeats Putin and Zelenskiy Into Making Concessions
Get caught up.
US President Donald Trump during a multilateral meeting with European leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.
Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/CNPDonald Trump continued browbeating Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy into making concessions that he believes could end Europe’s most-deadly war in eight decades. Speaking today in an interview on Fox, the US President warned Putin faces “a rough situation” if he doesn’t behave, while chiding Zelenskiy “to show some flexibility.”
The comments followed a whirlwind stretch of diplomacy in which Trump traveled to Alaska for a tête-à-tête with his Russian counterpart. Three days later, European Union leaders joined Zelenskiy for roundtable discussions at the White House.