US President Donald Trump said that Russia is also losing civilians as a result of the war with Ukraine. He made the statement to reporters at the White House after being asked about Russian strikes against Ukrainian civilians.
“Many people are dying. Russia is also losing civilians,” Trump said. According to him, the US is raising the issue in its contacts with the Ukrainian side. The president added that he discusses civilian casualties “in both directions,” without presenting specific data on the number of Russian civilians killed or on individual attacks for which responsibility has been established.
Trump also said that Russia and Ukraine’s combined losses amount to 25,000 people per month. He did not provide a breakdown of the figure, nor an independent assessment to confirm it. His statement about Russian civilian casualties was likewise phrased as a general claim, without citing specific cases.
“This has to stop. And I think we will stop it — fairly soon, maybe very soon,” the US president said regarding the prospects for ending the war.
Meeting with the Russian envoy
The statement was made on the day Trump met at the White House with Kirill Dmitriev, envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump declined to provide details about the conversation, but said that a “big deal” was being prepared that could cover not only Ukraine but also Europe.
The American news agency Associated Press reported that Trump did not meet with the Ukrainian representatives, who were also at the White House. At the same time, US officials held talks with Ukrainian and European representatives at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The discussions covered Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction and security guarantees. According to the Associated Press, the US plans to hold trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi next week. They would be the first such negotiations since February.
Diplomatic background
On November 5, Russian and Ukrainian representatives took part at the White House in an event dedicated to a temporary truce in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky. It was in effect from October 27 to November 1 and had a humanitarian purpose.
The White House said that aid had been delivered during the operation and that nearly 800 people had been evacuated. The event was linked to First Lady Melania Trump’s efforts to organize the limited truce.
Against this backdrop, the US president once again highlighted civilian casualties on both sides, but did not specify a deadline or an agreement that would guarantee an end to the fighting.
Sources: apnews.com, pool.pp.tools