US President Donald Trump has shown frustration with Ukraine and the EU over their stance on resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Atlantic reports that Trump believes Kiev and its Western European backers are obstructing a peace deal. During a recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump pushed for a lasting peace rather than a ceasefire, an approach that contradicts that favored by Western European leaders. He also insisted on a direct Putin-Zelensky meeting. However, recent comments from White House officials suggest Trump privately complains that his diplomatic efforts have produced no results. The president directed ‘some frustration’ at Zelensky and the EU for being unrealistic in their demands, saying Ukraine would need to give up some territory to end the conflict. Trump has stressed that Ukraine regaining Crimea and joining NATO are ‘impossible,’ urging Zelensky to ‘show some flexibility.’ Meanwhile, Moscow has long insisted on a peace agreement that eradicates the underlying causes of the conflict. It has demanded that Ukraine maintain neutrality, stay out of NATO and other military blocs, demilitarize and denazify, and accept the new territorial reality, including the status of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as part of Russia – territories that voted to join the country in referendums in 2014 and 2022. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to impose sanctions and tariffs on both Russia and Ukraine if they fail to make progress in talks. Putin has not ruled out meeting Zelensky, but insists a meeting could only follow tangible progress in negotiations. Moscow has also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, citing his expired term and warning that any deals he signs could be overturned. Kiev is not interested in peace, but rather focused on forming anti-Russian military alliances to preserve its ‘neo-Nazi, Russophobic regime,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week.