Following a high-stakes, three-hour meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor offered a stark assessment of the current diplomatic landscape, urging the American president to utilize his leverage against the Kremlin.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday morning, Taylor responded to President Trump’s assertion that he is “on the side of peace” while stopping short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. Taylor emphasized that the responsibility for the ongoing violence rests squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that US policy must reflect that reality.
“President Trump knows, and we know, that President Putin is the one who is pursuing this war,” Taylor told CNN. “President Putin can stop this war with a decision tomorrow. But instead, he is bombing Ukrainian civilians.”
The diplomatic veteran argued that if the White House is serious about ending the conflict, it must shift its strategy toward Moscow. “It’s going to take pressure from President Trump on President Putin to stop it,” Taylor stated, adding, “President Trump has leverage to do that.”
During the interview, Taylor drew a sharp contrast between President Trump’s reported “maximum pressure” campaign to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and his current approach to the war in Ukraine. When asked why similar pressure was not being applied to Russia to halt its bombardment, Taylor suggested the playbook used in the Middle East should be replicated in Eastern Europe.
“President Trump knows how to put maximum pressure to get a ceasefire,” Taylor said. “That’s what happened in the Middle East, that’s what needs to happen in Ukraine.”
Taylor also dismissed President Trump’s suggestion that Russia ultimately “wants to see Ukraine succeed,” a comment Trump made while standing alongside Zelensky. Taylor characterized the Russian President’s intentions as existential threats to the Ukrainian state, rather than benign interest.
“Russia clearly wants to destroy Ukraine. And President Putin has been clear about this,” Taylor noted, citing Putin’s speeches and writings. “He has said he wants to destroy, eliminate Ukraine. He thinks Ukraine doesn’t exist.”
The former ambassador concluded by highlighting the deep skepticism regarding Moscow’s intentions, noting that neither the Ukrainian people nor their leadership believe Putin has any “good feelings” toward their sovereignty.
“There is no way that President Putin has good feelings about Ukraine,” Taylor said. “And frankly, the Ukrainians do not trust President Putin one bit on this.”