Trump warns Russia-Ukraine war could escalate into World War III unless there is more action, less talk- The Week

US President Donald Trump warned that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine could escalate into World War III if it is not stopped.

He made the comments while speaking to reporters at the White House.

He said that nearly 25,000 lives have been lost in the past month, with a majority of the casualties being made up of soldiers. “I’d like to see the killing stop…for the most part, 25,000 soldiers died last month. I would love to see it stop. And we’re working very hard.”

“I wish this bloodshed would stop. The numbers are staggering, and this conflict needs to end now,” he also said that the escalations could potentially lead to a global catastrophe.

“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 said

The US president also showed frustration over the lack of progress in the peace talks, which continued for four years.

According to the White House Press Secretary, Caroline Levitt, the president is not satisfied with the mere promises from both Russian and Ukrainian officials. “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,” she said.

Trump also said that his administration is pushing a 28-point peace plan aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had, however, expressed dissatisfaction with this plan, proposing an alternative 20-point plan.

One of the reasons Zelenskyy rejected Trump’s plans is that he did not agree to cede the Donbas region to Russia. He was open to discussing broader plans for reconstruction in economic development in partnership with the US but said that any territorial concession would need to be approved through a national referendum. Zelenskyy had indicated earlier that another point of contention would be the governance of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control.

Levitt further confirmed the the Trump administration is involved in peace efforts.