A day before Easter, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire for the Christian holiday. Like other Russian promises, this one was broken too. Ukrainian media reported Russian drone attacks, shelling and firefights across the front lines. Ukrainian civilians were also targeted.

This ceasefire that wasn’t came on the tail of another one: a 30-day ceasefire that was supposed to cover energy infrastructure. That was violated at least 30 times, per Ukrainian media reports.

Throughout this time, United States President Donald Trump has continued to maintain that peace could be achieved. Even after his own Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US could walk away from its mediator role because of lack of progress, the president still showed optimism that a deal was possible.

On Easter Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week.”

A week earlier, Russia struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy with ballistic missiles. The death toll from the attack reached 34 people, including two children, with more than a dozen injured. Even this bloody attack did not sway the US president, who called it “a mistake”.

It is by now clear that three months into his presidency, Trump is failing dramatically in Ukraine. He must now realise that bold promises are easier made than........

© Al Jazeera