Trump hints at Russia-Ukraine peace deal as Zelenskyy heads to D.C.; the war's toll so far

US President Donald Trump has hinted at a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, which could end the protracted war that has continued for over three years. In his latest post on Truth Social, Trump termed his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as "very successful", saying that it went "very well". He said he had a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European leaders, including the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte.

He said the only long-term solution to end the war is a Peace Agreement. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up."

President Zelenskyy will be visiting D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. Trump says if all works out, he will then schedule a meeting with Putin. "Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved," he said.

Trump and Putin met on Friday at a summit in Alaska for the first time after Trump was elected to the White House this year amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The meeting lasted over 2 hours, starting with a handshake and a ride together in a presidential limousine. It also marked an unusual show of reception by the US administration for someone they repeatedly criticised for his actions in Ukraine.

Later, both leaders addressed a joint conference, along with their top advisors; both termed the talks as positive developments. During a conference, Putin thanked Trump for the proposal to travel to Alaska. "There have been no summits between Russia and the US for four years, and that's a long time. This time was very hard for bilateral relations, and let's be frank, they have fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War. I think that's not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole."

He said sooner or later, both countries will have to amend the situation to move on from the confrontation to dialogue. In this case, a personal meeting between the heads of state was long overdue, said Putin. "President Trump and I have very good direct contact. We've spoken multiple times. We spoke frankly on the phone. The special envoy of the president travelled out to Russia several times. Our advisers and heads of foreign ministries kept in touch all the time, and you know fully well that one of the central issues was the situation around Ukraine."

Trump also called the meeting "very productive", saying there were many points that they agreed on, without divulging details. "Most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal."

Heavy toll in the Russia-Ukraine war

The Russia-Ukraine war has led to massive economic and human losses on both sides. As per the British Ministry of Defence, over one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since Russia waged a war on Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has also put the total estimate at 950,000, including 2,50,000 deaths. Ukraine has also suffered heavy losses, with estimates putting the number of deaths between 60,000 and 100,000, with total casualties hitting 400,000.

To put these numbers into historical perspective, Russia has suffered roughly five times as many fatalities in Ukraine as in all Russian and Soviet wars combined between the end of World War II and the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. In addition, Russian fatalities in Ukraine (in just over three years) are 15 times larger than the Soviet Union’s decade-long war in Afghanistan and 10 times larger than Russia’s 13 years of war in Chechnya, as per CSIS.

Russia’s poor performance in the war has likely been caused by several factors: the Russian military’s reliance on dismounted infantry and mechanised forces to take Ukrainian territory, Russia’s failure to use operational fires in a coordinated way that enables manoeuvre, and Ukraine’s effective utilisation of defence in depth. Increased sanctions on Russia and continuing U.S. and European military assistance to Ukraine have also raised the costs for Moscow.