Advisers ask Trump to be careful with Putin

Several senior Trump aides are advising him to be more skeptical of Moscow's desire for peace with Ukraine. They say the Russian dictator has so far shown no real interest in ending hostilities, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The group, which includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, recommended that Trump be more cautious in his dealings with Putin. In particular, to take a tougher stance on Moscow's demands for territorial concessions from Kiev.

Trump is still siding with envoy Steve Whitkoff, who believes Putin wants to make peace after meeting with him twice in Moscow.

Russia has rejected Trump's demand for a cease-fire. Moscow has been “slow to walk away” from his push for a partial cessation of hostilities, dragging things out, insisting on what has been achieved on the battlefield and seeking maximum concessions in negotiations.

Trump hopes to partially halt the war in Ukraine to remove a major obstacle to a broad rapprochement with the Kremlin. He has appeared impatient with Putin at times, but has not followed through on his threat to impose new sanctions on Russian oil exports.

Even Trump's advisers, who favor a tougher approach to Moscow, support his goal of halting the three-year war.

But Russia's ballistic missile attack on Sunday, which killed 34 civilians and wounded 100 others in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, underscored the divisions among Trump's senior advisers.

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