U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg do not see the desire for peace on the side of Moscow and inform against the excessive trust of the Kremlin.
Putin ignores the ceasefire that the US demands and delays negotiations while bombing Ukrainian cities with cluster ammunition. A peculiar shock in the US administration and worldwide was caused by the massacre on Palm Sunday on April 13, during which shrapnel rockets fell on civilians in the center of the Ukrainian city, which was a manifest violation of all Russian assurances towards Trump.
“Facts talk Clear”
According to the “The Wall Street Journal” surrounded by the president of the United States, there is simply a dispute over how tough Donald Trump should be towards Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. While discussions are being held behind closed doors, 2 camps appear among Trump's closest advisors.
Rubio and Kellog are expected to advise the president of the United States not to accept any concessions against Russia until Moscow claims the right to Ukrainian territory and stops the attacks.
Trump's advisors, however, disagree on this issue, and Trump now seems more to perceive to his envoy Steve Witkoff, who already He spoke to Putin in Moscow twice in person and is convinced that the Russian dictator wants peace.
Witkoff seemed moved after dialogues with Putin and repeated Russian propaganda, causing confusion in Kiev and the capitals of the EU.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / contributor / Getty ImagesUS peculiar Envoy for close East Affairs (de facto besides for Ukraine) Steve Witkoff (illustration picture)
The facts are clear: Russia ignored the ceasefire that Trump demanded and delayed negotiations. Instead, the Kremlin uses its time for further military expansion — seemingly in the hope of forcing greater concessions at the negotiating table.
Trump: Putin “to a large degree responsible” for the war
A brutal Russian attack in which 34 civilians died on Palm Sunday on April 13 and more than 100 were injured further exacerbated tensions in the White House. While Trump described the massacre as a “mistake” And he blamed Joe Biden, Rubio, and Kellogg for the more clear words of the Russian massacre.
Rubio called the attack "cruel and tragic", and Kellogg wrote on the X platform on "crossing all limits of decency"
Donald Trump himself besides criticised Vladimir Putin — which seldom happens — and said that the Russian president is “largely responsible” for the war, but one more time besides held his predecessor Joe Biden and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski responsible. However, Trump has not yet had any concrete consequences for the Russian Federation, specified as the establishment of fresh sanctions against Russian oil exports
According to The Wall Street Journal, there are intense debates in the White home about whether sanctions against Russia should be tightened to force Putin to negotiate.
Massacre on Palm Sunday in Ukraine
W Palm Sunday 13 April Russia carried out a rocket attack on the town of Sumy, resulting in at least 35 deaths and until 117 were injured (as of 15 April 2025).
Military analyst and erstwhile officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ivan Stupak said in an interview with “New Gaza”, that the Russian military hit the city centre with ballistic missiles, of which At least 1 had a shrapnel-loaded warhead.. The usage of cluster ammunition against susceptible civilians during the holidays is in a consistent opinion of experts and observers a war crime and an act of peculiar savagery. Same stated Among others, Friedrich Merz, most likely future German Chancellor.
