President Donald Trump said Friday that his patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin is "running out fast" after privately telling confidants he may have misjudged Putin’s desire for peace, remarks that underscore growing White House frustration as efforts to arrange a bilateral meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stall.
In an interview on Fox & Friends, Trump said he had previously believed both leaders wanted to negotiate but that progress had failed to materialize. "Yeah, it's sort of running out and running out fast — but it does take two to tango," he said, adding, "We're going to have to come down very, very strong." The president repeated his criticism of Putin, saying he was "disappointed" and stressing a longstanding personal animus between Putin and Zelensky.
Trump’s comments followed a summit in Alaska last month in which he warned Putin that Russia would face severe consequences if it did not move toward a ceasefire or other progress on peace. Since that meeting, U.S. officials and analysts have noted an increase in Russian strikes on Ukrainian population centers, and Putin has not agreed to meet Zelensky for the bilateral conference the White House announced after its July-August talks.
A senior White House official told Axios the president is feeling frustrated by his inability to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Asked on Fox & Friends what penalties he would impose if Putin continued to spurn talks, Trump outlined potential measures: "It would be hitting very hard with sanctions to banks and having to do with oil and tariffs also," adding that he had already taken significant steps.
The president also addressed a recent incident involving a drone that crossed into Poland, saying U.S. forces had knocked it down and that it "shouldn’t be close to Poland anyway." The episode prompted alarm in Europe and added strain to efforts to manage the broader regional security picture.
Trump’s public airing of impatience comes after a sequence of diplomatic moves earlier this summer. Following his Alaska meeting with Putin, the president hosted Zelensky and a delegation of European leaders at the White House and announced plans for a neutral-site conference between Putin and Zelensky. In the weeks since, Russian officials have declined to recognize Zelensky’s legitimacy and rejected direct talks, complicating U.S.-sponsored efforts to broker a ceasefire.
Administration officials have signaled that a range of economic measures remain on the table should Moscow continue offensive operations and refuse to engage in negotiations. Beyond sanctions on banks and energy sectors, Trump referenced the possibility of tariffs; he did not provide a detailed timeline for any measures.
White House statements and Trump’s interview reflect an intensifying rhetorical posture aimed at pressuring Russia to accept diplomatic talks, but they also highlight the limits of U.S. leverage as military hostilities in Ukraine continue and Moscow resists a bilateral meeting with Kyiv’s leader. The Biden-era and current U.S. responses to the conflict have included sanctions and military aid to Ukraine, and the Trump administration's next steps will be closely watched by European allies and officials in Kyiv.
Officials did not provide a timetable for new punitive measures on Friday, and it was unclear whether Washington has secured commitments from allies to coordinate additional sanctions should they be pursued.