Overview

• Trump likened the conflict to children quarreling and said he would delay intervention to let them fight a bit.
• He said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow only after he determines that peace negotiations have definitively failed.
• He said he had urged Putin to hold off retaliatory strikes after Ukraine’s drone attack destroyed 41 Russian aircraft.
• Merz demanded stronger US pressure on Russia and contrasted Ukraine’s military targeting with Moscow’s attacks on civilian areas.
• Trump praised Germany’s growing defense budget, confirmed 45,000 US troops will stay stationed there, and publicly sparred with Elon Musk.