Irish Examiner view: The Kremlin will not back down easily on Ukraine deal

Vladimir Putin's audacity seems certain to frustrate every effort to get Russia to stop its senseless and unwinnable war on Ukraine

If Donald Trump is more of a deal maker than a peace maker, a cessation of the Ukrainian conflict is a lot further from anyone’s reach than predicted by the US president. Picture: Alex Brandon/AP

Securing a deal which will end the almost four years of bitter fighting since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022 is something most world leaders — with one notable exception, it would appear — want to see achieved quickly.

US president Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held intensive talks in Florida at the weekend, and both remain positively upbeat about progress. But the truth of the matter appears to be that the little they agree upon will appease Russian leader Vladimir Putin.