But halting progress, ever-more deadly drone attacks and unmoving negotiating positions seem to have taken their toll. On Thursday, Trump used a striking analogy to concede the warfare was nowhere near over, and that he did not, at that moment, feel it was best to intervene.

Following his talk with Putin, Trump expressed understanding for Russia’s need to retaliate against Ukraine’s drone strike against its bomber fleet.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz encouraged the president in an Oval Office meeting to help end the war.