Dealing with Ukraine ‘more difficult’ than dealing with Russia – Trump

Trump has said that dealing with Ukraine is proving “more difficult” than dealing with Russia

United States President Donald Trump has stated that brokering peace between Ukraine and Russia has proven “more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine” than Moscow.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday March 7, 2025, Trump remarked that the US is “doing very well with Russia” and suggested that “it may be easier dealing with” Moscow than Kyiv.

Trump had said he was “strongly considering” imposing large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire with Ukraine was achieved.

However, the US later took measures that signalled a shift in its stance on Ukraine, temporarily suspending the country’s access to some satellite imagery, space technology company Maxar confirmed to BBC Verify. This decision follows Trump’s earlier move to pause military aid to Kyiv.

The developments come a week after a heated White House exchange in which Trump rebuked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for being “disrespectful” to the US. Days later, the US suspended all military assistance and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday night. In response, Trump threatened further sanctions against Moscow, stating he was considering new tariffs because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”.

Despite this, Trump appeared to rationalise Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions, saying, “I think he’s hitting them [Ukraine] harder than he’s been hitting them. And I think probably anyone in that position would be doing that right now.”

He further suggested that while he believes Putin wants to end the war, he is uncertain about Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate. “I want to know they [Ukraine] want to settle, and I don’t know they want to settle,” he stated when questioned about the decision to halt aid to Kyiv.

Trump’s direct engagement with Putin has caused concern among NATO allies, who have largely avoided direct talks with Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite Trump’s confrontational exchange with Zelensky, his foreign policy team has recently adopted a more conciliatory tone towards Ukraine following the suspension of military and intelligence support.

According to sources, Washington is pushing Zelensky to sign an agreement that would grant the US a significant stake in Ukrainian minerals and commit Kyiv to a rapid truce with Moscow. Zelensky, however, has been advocating for firm security guarantees as part of any deal. Addressing the matter on Friday, Trump suggested that security guarantees could be addressed later, calling them the “easy part”.

The suspension of Ukraine’s access to US satellite imagery adds another layer to the situation. Space technology firm Maxar confirmed to BBC Verify that “the US government has decided to temporarily suspend Ukrainian accounts in GEGD”—a programme that provides high-quality satellite imagery collected by the US government.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which operates under the US Department of Defense, acknowledged the suspension, stating it was “in accordance with the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine”.

Amid growing pressure for Ukraine to accept US proposals, Trump’s senior officials are set to meet Zelensky’s team in Saudi Arabia next week. Zelensky has expressed optimism about the upcoming discussions, stating he hopes they will be “meaningful”.

On Friday, he reiterated that Ukraine was “ready for peace as soon as possible” and had presented “concrete steps” to achieve it. “Every day, new Russian strikes and reality itself prove that it is Russia that must be forced to peace,” he asserted.

In an effort to mend ties following his public clash with Trump, Zelensky has since expressed regret over the incident.

On Thursday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that Trump had received a letter from Zelensky containing an “apology” and “sense of gratitude”. Witkoff added, “Hopefully, we get things back on track with the Ukrainians, and everything resumes.”

Meanwhile, the UK has indicated that around 20 countries are interested in joining a “coalition of the willing” to provide additional military assistance to Ukraine, as European leaders move towards significantly increased defence spending.

On the battlefield, fighting continued on Friday, with Russian troops killing at least five people in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to local authorities.