Trump Says Russia, Ukraine May Have to ‘Keep Fighting’ Before They’re Ready for Peace

The president said the Russia–Ukraine fighting might escalate because there is a ‘lot of hatred’ between the two sides.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on June 5, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—Russia and Ukraine may have to keep fighting before they are willing to consider peace, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested during a June 5 White House event.

Speaking with reporters while hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, Trump compared the more-than-three-year war between Russia and Ukraine to a fight between children.

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy, they hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don’t want to be pulled,” Trump said. “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while.”

Trump said he shared that analogy with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call on June 4.

While Trump has tried to settle the ongoing war, he has recently warned both sides that he will pull back from his peacemaking efforts if he does not see signs of progress.

On June 1, Ukrainian forces carried out a surprise attack, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, in which they used a swarm of relatively cheap one-way attack drones to cripple dozens of Russian strategic bombers. The attack was launched the day before Russian and Ukrainian representatives were set to hold a round of negotiations in Turkey.

The White House has stated that it had no advanced notice of the Ukrainian drone swarm operation. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, has also said an attack on a component of Russia’s nuclear strike forces raises the risk level in the ongoing conflict.

During their June 4 phone call, Putin told Trump that he intends to retaliate in response to the Ukrainian drone attack.

Trump said he advised the Russian leader to resist the urge to respond with aggression.

“I said don’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, you should stop it,” Trump said. “But I get that there’s a lot of hatred.”

Trump said he remains open to imposing tough new sanctions on Russia if the efforts to reach a peace deal collapse.

When asked when he might order such sanctions, Trump did not provide a specific date but said the deadline is “in [his] brain.”

As anticipation builds for the Russian response to Operation Spiderweb, Ukrainian leaders have renewed calls for their foreign backers to supply them with more air defense systems, such as the U.S.-made Patriot system.

Speaking via video call with members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on June 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said such air defense systems “are the most effective way to force Russia to stop its missile strikes and terror.”

Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.