Trump expresses doubts Putin is willing to end the Ukraine war

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were " very close to a deal."

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"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days," Trump said in a social media post as he flew back to the United States after attending Pope Francis' funeral at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

"It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through "Banking" or "Secondary Sanctions?" Too many people are dying!!!" Trump wrote.

The new doubts aired by Trump come as the president and top aides intensify their push to come to a deal to end the war that began in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The comments also sharply contrasted with Trump's positive assessment that the two sides were "very close to a deal" after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow on Friday.