Donald Trump claims Vladimir Putin wants to end Ukraine war: ‘It’s a mess for him’

US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters at The Hague on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Wednesday (June 25) said Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking for a way to exit the war in Ukraine, calling it a "mess" for the Kremlin and revealing that Putin recently reached out to him with an offer to assist on Iran.

“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” Trump said of the Russian president. “He called the other day, and he said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said ‘no, you can help me with Russia.’”

'Misguided' Putin

Trump went on to say he believes Putin has been “misguided” in his invasion of Ukraine. “I'm very surprised actually,” he said. “I thought we should have settled that easily.”

Trump has frequently claimed that he could have prevented the war — or ended it quickly — had he still been in office.

Trump acknowledged that the conflict is "more difficult than people would have any idea," noting that both leaders involved are challenging to deal with.

When a Dutch reporter questioned his past campaign promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office, Trump dismissed the remark, saying, "Of course it was sarcastic."

On Putin’s ambitions: “It’s possible”

Responding to a question about whether Putin has territorial ambitions beyond Ukraine, Trump said: “It’s possible,” stopping short of making a firm prediction.

He used the moment to emphasise what he called his administration’s success in de-escalating other global tensions, including “taking care of” a recent flare-up between India and Pakistan.

Trump hints at sending more Patriot missiles for Ukraine

Trump responded to a question from a Ukrainian reporter, suggesting the US may consider sending more Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv.

“We’re going to see if we can make some available. Yeah, they’re very hard to get. We need them too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and, they’re very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.”