Trump Keeps Dreaming of Peace in Ukraine. Reality Might Disappoint Him

On Truth Social this week, U.S. President Donald Trump took a minute to tout a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” the president said of the swap.

“Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

It was, per CNN, the largest prisoner exchange of the three-year war. The swap began on Friday, with hundreds of prisoners being released, and it is set to continue throughout the weekend.

“The agreement to release 1,000 prisoners on each side was the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week, which marked the first time the two sides have met directly since soon after Russia’s full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,” CNN reported.

The network added that while the two sides were not expected to announce the exchange until after it is complete, Trump “broke that convention on Friday, announcing the swap on social media as it was unfolding.”

Will It Lead to Peace in Ukraine?

Whether the exchange is a step toward a wider peace deal and eventually the end of the war, as Trump seems to imply, is a whole other question.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a radio address that the prisoner swap agreement was the only progress that came out of recent peace talks, and that Russia was blocking breakthroughs on any other topic. Ukraine wanted to agree to a ceasefire, but none was reached.

Russia, for its part, is not talking as if it plans to agree to a peaceful end of the war anytime soon. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is creating a “security buffer zone” along the Russia-Ukraine border, CNN reported.

“I have already said that a decision was made to create the necessary security buffer zone along the border. Our armed forces are currently solving this problem. Enemy firing points are being actively suppressed, the work is underway,” the Russian president said this week.

This led Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi to state that “Russia is the obstacle of peace efforts now.”

Peace is “Further Away”

Last week, Trump held a two-hour call with Putin. And while many expected Trump to side with Russia and reach an understanding with his Russian counterpart to pursue an end to the war on terms that favor Moscow, it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards, at least in the short term.

For now, Trump appears to be moving away from the U.S. having any direct role in the talks, pitching the Vatican instead as a third party that could preside over the peace talks.

“Ukraine and its European partners are pushing for a 30-day ceasefire to allow time for talks on a permanent peace agreement to start,” CNN reported of the aftermath of the Trump-Putin call. “Moscow has refused, insisting on talks now on a final deal. Since this process could take months, it looks like a ruse to allow Russia to press ahead with its offensives that are killing innocent civilians.”

“It feels to me that the president maybe didn’t really try to pressure Putin at all. It’s good that they had a two-hour conversation but coming out of that what do we have?,” Beth Sanner, a former deputy director of national intelligence, told CNN.

Zelensky weighed in on the Trump-Putin conversation.

“This is a defining moment. The world can now see whether its leaders are truly capable of securing a ceasefire and achieving real, lasting peace,” the Ukrainian president said on X. “At the beginning of our bilateral conversation, I reaffirmed to President Trump that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional ceasefire, as has been spoken about, particularly the United States. It is important not to dilute this proposal. If the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions. Pressure on Russia will push it toward real peace – this is obvious to everyone around the world.”

About the Author:

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.

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