US President Donald Trump said he is stepping up pressure on Russia to agree to end the war in Ukraine.Speaking to reporters at the White House during a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Thursday evening, Trump said, ‘We're putting a lot of pressure on Russia, and Russia knows that.’While stressing that he has ‘his own deadline’ for ending the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, Trump underscored the importance of negotiations, adding that the United States has made ‘a lot of progress toward ending the war.’Trump acknowledged that Ukraine has lost substantial territory in the conflict, stating that its recovery would now be ‘difficult.’In earlier remarks ahead of the White House meeting, Trump expressed discontent with overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv, saying he was ‘not happy’ about the attacks. He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt such operations in order to pave the way for a peace agreement with Ukraine.The Russian military had targeted Ukrainian weapons facilities in overnight strikes from Wednesday to Thursday, including plants producing ‘rocket fuel and gunpowder,’ according to Moscow. Ukrainian authorities said the attacks killed at least eight people.Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that its forces ‘launched a large-scale attack using long-range precision weapons from the air, sea, and land, as well as drones,’ targeting arms manufacturing facilities. The ministry added, ‘The objectives of the strike were achieved.’In his first response to the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia is attempting to ‘put pressure’ on the United States by attacking Kyiv, which experienced its most intense assault in months. (
