Putin and Trump United in Claiming Ukraine War Will End Soon, Zelensky?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has surprisingly given a strong signal that the protracted conflict in Ukraine will soon reach its conclusion. This statement comes amid ongoing international diplomatic efforts to halt the war that has lasted five years.

“I think this issue will end soon,” Putin told reporters last weekend.

Citing Reuters, Putin’s optimism was reinforced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday (12/5/2026). Peskov revealed that there has been real progress from trilateral cooperation between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, forming the basis for ending the fighting.

“The accumulation of groundwork in this peace process allows us to say that a resolution is indeed approaching,” Peskov stated.

Signals of peace also came from the White House, where US President Donald Trump made a similar statement before departing for China. Trump believes that a final agreement between the two warring countries is very close, although he was not yet willing to detail the points of the agreement.

“The end of the war in Ukraine is really, I think, very close,” Trump said as he left the White House on Tuesday.

However, the sweet hopes from Moscow and Washington contrast sharply with the stance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky expressed deep concerns and emphasised that he sees no good faith from Russia to truly stop the aggression.

“Russia has no intention of ending this war. And we, unfortunately, are preparing for new attacks,” Zelensky said.

To date, a deadlock persists due to differing peace conditions, with Russia controlling one-fifth of Ukrainian territory demanding further territorial concessions, while Kyiv demands a full troop withdrawal. Nevertheless, Peskov stated that Putin remains willing to meet directly with Zelensky to provide a “final point” to the conflict as soon as the preparation process is complete.

“And for that finalisation, to provide a complete end point, there is still a lot of preparatory work that needs to be done,” Peskov said, adding that the war could end at any time if Zelensky makes the necessary decision.