Trump’s team rethinking its strategy to end the Russia-Ukraine war — Financial Times

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is reassessing its strategy for ending the Russia-Ukraine war, the Financial Times reported.

The FT spoke with two European officials who recently held discussions with Trump’s advisers. According to these officials, Trump’s team has not yet settled on a clear approach to the conflict.

“The whole [Trump] team is obsessed with strength and looking strong, so they’re recalibrating the Ukraine approach,” one official told the FT. The team is reportedly cautious about making decisions that could invite comparisons to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden, the official added.

Trump and his advisers have recently suggested that the war between Russia and Ukraine could be resolved within months of his inauguration, the FT noted. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the conflict within “24 hours.”

Trump has indicated plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin within six months of taking office. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for the war in Ukraine, said Trump could propose a “solution” to end the war “in the near term.” Kellogg added that his personal goal is to bring the conflict to a halt within 100 days.

European allies of both Washington and Kyiv have interpreted Trump’s adjusted timeline as a signal that his administration may not immediately withdraw U.S. support for Ukraine, the FT reported.

Kellogg, for his part, emphasized that Trump is not planning to make concessions to Putin, saying the president-elect is “trying to save Ukraine.”