Trump Tells Russia to Make Ukraine Deal at G7 Summit
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- Trump told reporters he would 'do whatever I can' to end the war after meeting Zelenskyy and G7 leaders at the Évian-les-Bains summit, publicly telling Russia to make a peace deal.
- Zelenskyy said G7 leaders agreed Russia was not winning the war and discussed additional sanctions to bring Moscow to the negotiating table, while Trump responded positively to his request for more air defense missiles.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted that 'the tide is turning for Ukraine,' arguing 2026 is 'very different from 2025' and that Russia's fatigue is openly showing.
- Ukraine struck the Gazprom Neft refinery from 500 kilometres away, and oil producer Tatneft introduced nationwide fuel purchase caps as Kyiv's attacks on Russian refineries doubled since the start of 2026.
- Trump said sanctions on Russian oil could return 'soon' now that oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic was throttled by Iran during the U.S.-Israel war.
- Zelenskyy offered to meet Putin at the G7 summit, but Putin has repeatedly dismissed direct talks unless held in Moscow; the Kremlin suggested envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could travel to Moscow only after a U.S.-Iran memorandum on ending hostilities is signed.
Why it matters: European leaders are now jointly pressing Trump to harden the U.S. position on Russia, leveraging Ukraine's improved drone capabilities — refinery attacks have doubled in 2026, forcing nationwide fuel caps at Tatneft — to argue Moscow is losing momentum. The Kremlin is procedurally tying any envoy visit to a U.S.-Iran deal, meaning the Ukraine track now depends on the Iran track closing first.
