Trump, German Chancellor Merz discuss ways to end war between Ukraine and Russia

President Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at the White House Thursday they are searching for ways to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“We are all looking for instruments to bring this war to an end,” said Mr. Merz, seated next to Mr. Trump in the Oval Office. “America is in a very strong position to do something. Let’s talk about what we can do jointly.”

He said Germany and other European Union leaders are ready to “do what we can.”

“As you know, we are looking for more pressure for Russia,” he said. Mr. Merz told reporters that Mr. Trump is “the key person in the world” who can stop the war “by putting pressure on Russia.”

The German leader asserted that Ukraine and Russia are not holding to the same military standards in the war.

“Ukraine is only targeting military targets, and not civilians,” he said.

Mr. Trump, who spoke to Mr. Putin on Wednesday following a stunning, surprise Ukrainian drone attack on air bases inside Russian territory on Sunday, said that Mr. Putin got “hit hard.”

“He’s been doing hitting, so I understand it, but he got hit hard, and I don’t think he’s playing games,” Mr. Trump said. “I think I’ve always said he wanted the whole thing. I thought he wanted everything having to do with Ukraine.”

He said the Russian invasion that began more than three years ago during the Biden administration is “something that would have never happened if I were president.”

Mr. Trump repeated his frustration about the casualties, saying “the amount of death in that war is far greater than the news has been reporting, or that, frankly, that either side has been reporting.”

He said, “It’s a very sad thing, and I can tell you just speaking for the chancellor, because we speak about it. He feels the same way. He wants to see it ended.”

Mr. Merz met last week with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin, where he announced Germany will increase its support of Ukraine by sending more military equipment and increasing weapons manufacturing in Kyiv.

The phone call on Wednesday between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin lasted more than an hour, and Mr Trump said Mr. Putin vowed to retaliate against Ukraine’s successful drone attack.

Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow that the two leaders pledged to keep the lines of communication open.