White House disbands working group focused on pressuring Russia, three months after creating it — Reuters

The Trump administration has effectively disbanded the interagency working group it had created to develop a strategy for pressuring Russia to end the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing three U.S. officials.

The group was formed in March–April 2025, when some of Trump’s close advisers were becoming increasingly skeptical about the Kremlin’s willingness to make a peace deal with Ukraine. Around the same time, Trump made several statements suggesting he might take a tougher stance toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

By May, however, the task force had lost momentum, according to Reuters’s sources, as it became clear to its member that Trump had no interest in pursuing a confrontational approach towards Russia.

The “final blow” to the group came when Trump ordered cuts to the White House National Security Council (NSC) staff, affecting even the team working directly on the Russia–Ukraine war. The working group had been coordinated by senior NSC staffers and also included representatives from the State Department, the Treasury, the Pentagon, and the intelligence community.