It's Time: Trump Urges Russia to Intensify Efforts to End the War.

US President Donald Trump urged Russia to take steps to end the war with Ukraine in his message on the social media platform Truth Social. He mentioned the significant human losses that have occurred recently. Trump emphasized that this conflict should never have started, and he would have been president had it not been for this situation.

The US president's address was made prior to the arrival of diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff in Russia. Witkoff is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin. This meeting is already the third in Trump's efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

The US president expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations with Russia in recent weeks. He even stated that he was outraged by Putin's comments regarding Ukraine.

The Trump administration warned that if a ceasefire is not achieved by the end of the month, the US may impose new sanctions on Russia. This could be done either through the president's executive powers or by appealing to Congress to pass a new sanctions bill.

Last week, Witkoff hosted Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev in Washington in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations. Ukraine agreed to Trump's proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia put forward new demands, including the lifting of some US sanctions.

President Trump noted that some progress has been made in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine regarding the cessation of hostilities. The US and Russia exchanged prisoners, resulting in the release of citizens from both countries. Diplomats from both nations also met in Istanbul to discuss the normalization of relations between them.