As negotiations to end the war in Ukraine stall, the Trump administration is turning to the Middle East to fulfill the president’s vow to be a global peacemaker.

The American president’s preference for praising and excusing the Russian leader has yielded no progress toward peace in Ukraine.

In highly anticipated peace talks, Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners, the war’s largest swap. While they agreed to keep talking, there was no breakthrough for peace and the two sides seemed even further apart.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine deepened expectations that progress might soon be made on ending those countries’ more than three-year war ...

U.S. and Russian officials have increasingly shared criticisms of each other publicly, as Washington's efforts to end the war in Ukraine appear to be devolving.

Wrap up your Monday with SOFREP’s Evening Brief – covering the latest in defense and world affairs, May 26, 2025.

President Trump continued to criticize Vladimir Putin as Ukraine peace talks drag on. But his recent souring on the Russian President, after months of deference, is raising more questions than answers.