Scoop: White House believes Europe secretly undoing Ukraine war's end

Behind the scenes: White House officials are losing patience with European leaders, whom they claim are pushing Ukraine to hold out for unrealistic territorial concessions by Russia.

• Axios has learned that the sanctions the U.S. is urging Europe to adopt against Russia include a complete cessation of all oil and gas purchases — plus secondary tariffs from the EU on India and China, similar to those already imposed on India by the U.S.
• "The Europeans don't get to prolong this war and backdoor unreasonable expectations, while also expecting America to bear the cost," a top White House official told Axios. "If Europe wants to escalate this war, that will be up to them. But they will be hopelessly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory."

What they're thinking: The Europeans are said to be pushing Zelensky to hold out for a "better deal" — a maximalist approach that has exacerbated the war, Trump's inner circle argues.

• The U.S. officials believe British and French officials are being more constructive. But they complain that other major European countries want the U.S. to bear the full cost of the war, while putting no skin in the game themselves.
• "Getting to a deal is an art of the possible," the top official said. "But some of the Europeans continue to operate in a fairy-tale land that ignores the fact it takes two to tango."

The big picture: After his summits with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump repeatedly said the next step must be a Putin-Zelensky summit. So far, the Russians have refused.

• At the same time, the Ukrainians have rejected any discussion on possible territorial concessions unless the Russians come to the table.
• Trump was visibly frustrated about the situation during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. "Everybody is posturing. It's all bullshit," he said.
• Russia's massive air strikes on Kyiv, plus Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries, further signaled that peace wasn't getting any closer.

What they're saying: "Perhaps both sides of this war are not ready to end it themselves. The president wants it to end, but the leaders of these two countries need it to end and must want it to end as well," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday.

• A senior White House official told Axios that Trump is seriously considering stepping back from the diplomatic efforts until one or both parties begin to show more flexibility.
• "We are going to sit back and watch. Let them fight it out for a while and see what happens," the official said.
• Some U.S. officials have begun to see European leaders as a major obstacle, despite the fact that Trump held a friendly meeting with them and Zelensky less than two weeks ago.

The other side: A senior European official involved in the talks with the U.S. over the Ukraine-Russia war expressed surprise about the U.S. criticism.

• The official was puzzled by the suggestion that European leaders were playing one game with Trump and another behind his back, saying no such gaps existed in reality.
• The official also said European countries are already working on a new set of sanctions against Russia.

The latest: On Friday, Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak met in New York.

• They discussed the potential Zelensky-Putin meeting and Yermak invited Witkoff for a first visit to Kyiv, but no significant progress was made, a source with knowledge of the meeting said.

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