When Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, he came back with a mission: to end the Russia–Ukraine war quickly and claim credit as the world’s greatest dealmaker.

Armed with bravado and a deeply rooted belief in transactional politics, Trump believed he could strong-arm adversaries into peace, just as he had once promised to do with North Korea, Iran and West Asia.

But like many of his past forays into international diplomacy, Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine has collided head-on with geopolitical reality.

Trump’s leaked ‘100-day peace plan’ illustrates a plan as ambitious as it is flawed. It outlines a ceasefire by 20 April, recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territories and a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially rejected the proposal, but after heavy pressure from the White House, he agreed to explore a limited, time-bound ceasefire.

Trump, convinced of his diplomatic prowess, then expected an equally quick acquiescence from Russian president Vladimir Putin. But Putin, unlike Zelenskyy, saw no reason to play along.

Russia’s current battlefield advantage, especially in the east, provides Moscow with increasing leverage.

Putin is in no rush. He believes Ukraine, fatigued, battered and without American weapons, will eventually have no option but to agree to Russia’s terms.

Trump, having promised quick results, is now lashing out — threatening secondary tariffs on Russian oil and criticising both Kyiv and Moscow.

This entire sequence of events reveals Trump’s fundamental misreading of the situation. Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are not a real -estate deal or a televised handshake agreement.

They are embedded in deep-rooted........

© National Herald