Trump says Russia-Ukraine ‘hatred’ is blocking a peace deal

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that “hatred” between Russia and Ukraine was preventing a peace deal from being reached in the conflict, where the death toll continues to rise.

Trump, speaking at the Americas Shield Summit in Doral, Florida, told world leaders gathered there that “the hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great.”

“It’s so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you would think there would be a bit of camaraderie, [but] there is none. And the hatred is so great. It’s very difficult for them to get there. It’s very, very difficult to get there. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “But we’ve been close a few times and one or the other would pull back.”

“But we’re losing, you know, they’re losing, you know, it doesn’t really affect us that much because we have an ocean between us. I’m doing it as a favor to Europe, and I’m doing it as a favor to life because they’re losing 25,000 souls,” Trump added. “Think about that every month. 25,000. Last month, 31,000. On both sides, 31,000 people died, most of them soldiers.”

ZELENSKYY IN UKRAINE: RUSSIA TRYS TO “PLAY” THE GAME WITH TRUMP AND BLOCKS PEACE TALKS

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are pictured side by side as discussions continue over Ukraine’s future and a possible settlement to the war. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP; Christian Bruna/Getty)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News in late February that Russia was trying to “play games with the president of the United States” and block U.S.-brokered efforts to end the war.

Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to freeze the conflict along its current lines, proposing a ceasefire followed by negotiations. But he said he would not accept Russia’s demand that Ukraine return territory that the Russian army failed to capture in four years of fighting.

RUSSIA ‘MASSIVELY’ LOSTING 25,000 TROOPS MONTHLY IN UKRAINE AS WAR CONTINUES, SAYS NATO CHIEF

President Donald Trump participates in the Americas Shield Summit on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops every month in its war against Ukraine, as the fighting drags on into its fourth year.

Firefighters put out a fire in a multi-story building following a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Andrii Marienko/AP)

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Rutte said at the time at the Renew Europe Global Europe Forum in Brussels that the staggering number of casualties reflected the intensity of Ukraine’s defense, but he warned that Russia remained the most significant long-term threat to NATO.

Simon Owen, Greg Palkot and Ashley Carnahan of Fox News contributed to this report.

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