Putin Grows Disappointed With Trump Over Shift on Ukraine, Financial Times Writes

The FT also draws attention to a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said the United States is “moving further and further away from the role of an objective mediator” in the war. In the publication’s assessment, those words were the clearest sign yet of Moscow’s growing irritation that Washington has not helped end the war on terms favorable to Russia.

“According to two people familiar with the leaders’ closed-door discussions, at last week’s G7 summit Trump was ‘extremely impressed and encouraged’ by Ukraine’s campaign of long-range strikes against targets deep inside Russia. At the same summit, he agreed to tighten sanctions against Russian energy,” the article says.

The FT writes that these strikes, which were later followed by attacks on military sites around Moscow and an oil refinery on the city’s outskirts, are supported by U.S. intelligence. Western allies, according to the publication, are urging Washington to continue providing Kyiv with such information.

Senior Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that they see signs of a more favorable attitude from Trump toward increased support for Ukraine. In their assessment, he may be ready to put more active pressure on Russia in order to bring about an end to the war.

At the same time, the FT emphasizes, skepticism remains in Kyiv about the U.S. president’s consistency. Ukrainian officials recall that Trump has previously made promises he did not keep and is known for complimentary remarks about Putin.

One Ukrainian official told the FT that Zelensky and Trump spoke at length last week during a dinner in Évian-les-Bains. According to the publication’s source, Trump told Zelensky he was impressed by Ukraine’s “military results.”

“Behind the scenes, however, Russia’s irritation with the United States has been growing since last summer,” the Financial Times notes, citing Western diplomats and participants in informal talks.