EXPERT COMMENTPUBLISHED 27 JUNE 2025 4 MINUTE READ
By Armida van Rij, Senior Research Fellow, Europe Programme and Kajsa Ollongren, Associate Fellow, Europe Programme
President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours.” Since then, his administration has badly mishandled diplomatic efforts to bring about a cease-fire. Trump underestimated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to subjugate Ukraine and has consequently failed to confront the Kremlin with the coercive pressure needed to stop its ongoing aggression.
The grim exchange, the compensation for families as the war wears on, is taking its toll in more ways than one.
By Ian Proud
A spat over the return of 6,000 Ukrainian bodies lays bare the unforgiving economic and political challenge that Ukraine faces in bringing home its fallen, and the political storm that President Zelensky will face when the war finally ends.
