Washington DC [US], December 12 : US President Donald Trump on Thursday issued a stark warning that the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict risks escalating into a global conflict, cautioning that "things like this end up in third world wars."
Speaking to reporters at the White House after signing an Executive Order aimed at preventing a "patchwork" of state-level artificial intelligence regulations, Trump revealed that 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in the war last month alone and expressed deep frustration over the continued bloodshed and reiterated his push for an immediate end to hostilities.
"I'd like to see the killing stop. 25,000 people died last month, mostly soldiers, but some people also where bombs were dropped but for the most part, 25,000 soldiers died last month. I would love to see it stop. And we're working very hard," the US President said.
"Things like this end up in third world wars. And I said that the other day. I said, everybody keeps playing games like this. We will end up in a third world war and we don't want to see that happen," he added.
Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the US President is "extremely frustrated" with both Russia and Ukraine over the slow progress toward ending the ongoing war and is unwilling to engage in "meetings just for the sake of meeting".
During a press briefing, Leavitt stated the President was tired of meetings that achieve nothing and wanted results, not words, as the US acts as the primary mediator to end the four-year-long running war.
"The president is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war. He's sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting. He doesn't want any more talk. He wants action. He wants this war to come to an end," Leavitt said.
She further confirmed that the Trump administration remains actively involved in peace efforts, with President Trump holding talks with European leaders on Wednesday and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team continuing direct discussions with both sides "literally as we speak".
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the US is advocating for Ukraine to pull back its forces from the Donetsk region to create a "free economic zone" in Kyiv-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, which Moscow seeks to dominate, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine had submitted a 20-point set of counter-proposals to the US as part of ongoing discussions on security guarantees with senior American officials, emphasising that any territorial concessions would need to be approved through a national referendum.
The Ukrainian President has also been facing increasing pressure from Washington to reach a peace deal with Russia, with reports suggesting that Trump wants an agreement by Christmas, Al Jazeera reported.
The overall peace plan includes a 20-point framework, along with separate documents addressing security guarantees and Ukraine's reconstruction.
The full details of the revised framework, which adjusts an earlier US draft seen as favouring Russia, have not been made public.
Zelenskyy indicated that the main points of disagreement remain control of the Donetsk region in the Donbas and the future governance of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, according to Al Jazeera.