The week began with a diplomatic breakthrough and a (fragile) cease-fire in a years-long war. It ends with another conflict stuck in a bloody, frustrating rut. Donald Trump has made it his mission to achieve peace in both. But the deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return the last living Israeli hostages came about in part because Trump used his leverage to push both sides to make concessions. The president’s willingness to exert maximum pressure to achieve peace has not extended to Russia, making it possible for President Vladimir Putin to keep waging war.
Trump famously boasted that the Ukraine conflict would be easy to solve. It didn’t look that way today. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and called for the war to end, but declined to authorize—at least for now—the transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv. Those weapons would allow Ukraine to strike deep within Russia, a move Kyiv believes could force Moscow to the negotiating table.
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