WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, the United States is ramping up efforts to broker a peace deal, but sharp divisions are emerging over how to approach Russia’s role in the conflict.
On the three-year mark of the war, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’ll give up his presidency in exchange for peace.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is making headlines after declining to call Russia’s invasion “unprovoked.”
“Does all the finger-pointing and pearl-clutching make peace more likely? That’s the enduring question. The president is asking, he wants peace,” stated Hegseth.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff shared similar comments in an interview.
“Irrespective of who started it, it needs to end too. Many people’s lives have been expunged as a result of it,” said Witkoff.
Not everyone in Washington is on board with the Trump administration’s approach.
“I think Trump is much closer, ideologically to Putin and other autocrats around the world, than he is to democratic countries,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
President Donald Trump will hold a call with other G-7 leaders on Monday to discuss the three-year mark of the war and next steps toward a possible resolution.


