Donald Trump hailed “good co-operation” between Russia and Ukraine as he reiterated his desire to get the war between the two nations “stopped”.
The US has been holding discussions with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin’s officials in recent weeks, with the aim of reaching a ceasefire agreement.
Speaking from the White House as he announced tariffs on US imports of goods from around the world, Mr Trump said: “We’re going to get it stopped.”
He added: “It’s a senseless war that would have never happened if I was president and it shouldn’t be allowed to go on.
“And I think we’ve been given good co-operation by Russia and by Ukraine, but we have to get it stopped.
“It’s humanity. It’s humanity. It’s a terrible thing.”
On Sunday night, Mr Trump and Sir Keir Starmer agreed on the need to “keep up the collective pressure on Putin” during a phone call.
Last week, the White House said that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to pause hostilities in the Black Sea after their separate talks designed to secure a ceasefire.
However, strikes in Ukraine have continued. Mr Zelensky said on Wednesday that four people had been killed by a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih.
He said that Ukraine “needs a sufficient number of air defense systems and missiles to protect all people in Ukraine from Russian terror”.
In a post on X, he added: “We are working with all our partners toward this goal and we thank everyone who is helping us. We are grateful to everyone who understands that pressure on Russia and stable support for Ukraine are essential.”
In recent days the US president has said he was “angry, pissed off” with his Russian counterpart for questioning the credibility of Mr Zelensky.
In an interview with NBC News, Mr Trump criticised the Russian president for “getting into Zelensky’s credibility”.
The US leader suggested he was considering putting “secondary sanctions” on Russian oil, after Mr Putin continued to claim that Ukraine’s president lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal.
