When asked about the war in Ukraine last week at a foreign policy forum in Washington, U.S. Vice President JD Vance was asked about Maga’s criticism of Kyiv and sympathy for Russia.

Instead, they heard a completely different voice. Vance spoke of a series of proposals from Russia to end the conflict: “We think they ask too much.”

The attendees were surprised. Vance was one of the main protagonists in the now-infamous Oval Office showdown in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February and accused him of failing to show enough gratitude to the United States - a scene that seems to prove a completely broken scene in the relationship between Kiev and Washington.

Vance's comments are part of the obvious shift in the Trump administration in tone. With suspicion of the Russian leader rather than Zelenskyy, U.S. officials seem to be increasingly impatient with Vladimir Putin.

"Americans have this simple idea - let's charm Russia, put pressure on Zelenskyy and we'll make a deal," said Wolfgang Ischinger, the former German ambassador, who commented at the US forum last week. “It turns out that Russia’s charming Russia is not enough.”

In recent days, efforts to international wars have intensified. Russia and Ukraine will hold direct negotiations in Türkiye on Thursday, according to Putin's suggestion - although it is unclear whether the Russian leader will participate in it in person.

On Tuesday, a White House official said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will attend.

But Trump’s most anticipated goal – a ceasefire that could lead to peace talks and end the war – has so far avoided him. Despite the threat of tough new sanctions by Western powers, including the United States, Putin rejected international calls for a halt to fight.

Observers say Russia's obvious insensitivity proves to be irritating to Trump. “You hear the frustration of (him) communication,” said Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador. “He might understand that he has given up too much and has not received anything.”

Indeed, under a set of proposals for the United States to radiate war last month, Washington expressed his willingness to acknowledge Russia's rule over Crimea - a concession that angered Ukraine and the EU, but was rejected by Putin.

Trump's social media post reflects his obvious impatientness. In late April, after Russia fired missiles into civilian areas in Ukraine, he said the Kremlin was "beating me" and threatened to impose secondary and bank sanctions on Moscow.

"Trump believes Putin is not a friend of the United States," said Bill Taylor, who has served as Ukrainian ambassador since 2006-09. “People realize that (he) is not trustworthy…he is not negotiating seriously.”

It has become increasingly difficult to blame the Ukrainians for continuing to fight. Zelenskyy has done everything he can to use himself as a partner in recent weeks to support the U.S. demanding a ceasefire. On Sunday, he agreed to make a proposal for direct negotiations in Türkiye after Trump urged him to accept it.

Relations between Kiev and Washington have rebounded since the Oval Office quarrel in February, partly because mineral transactions have opened avenues for the two countries to jointly invest in key Ukraine resources.

Ukrainian officials said the deal makes it more likely that the United States will continue to support Ukraine's defense. "Now, Trump has skins in the game," one said.

However, it is unclear whether Trump has really diverted his sympathy for Ukraine or whether he is ready to punish Russia's stubbornness.

While most Western leaders and Ukraine's U.S. envoy Kellogg criticized Putin's direct negotiation proposal, saying that a ceasefire should be first, Trump praised the Russian leader's gambit for giving Russia and Ukraine a "potentially good day."

“Trump definitely sees Putin not playing,” said Eric Green, an aide to National Security Council President Joe Biden, who is now a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment Foundation, a Carnegie International Peace Think Tank. "But I don't believe it will be a meaningful pressure from Putin."

Isingh said he was "happy" by Vance's shift to Russia, and that the U.S. and Europe's stance in the Ukrainian war was "integrating". However, the former German ambassador in the United States added that the vice president “has not taken the next logical step, which is to say we need to really put the screws on Russia now”.

But other American politicians are eager to be tough with Moscow. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said he supports a bill that would impose "bone-making" sanctions on Russia, including a 500% tariff on imports for countries buying oil and gas if Putin does not start serious negotiations to end the war.

The bill has been supported by 72 senators, which shows that support for Ukraine remains strong on Capitol Hill.

“These sanctions are the Senate’s view that we think the main bad guy is Russia,” Graham told reporters late last month. He added that Putin “has a huge mistake to try to play Trump.”

Experts say Russia, meanwhile, is relying on the US president to lose patience with the peace process. "Putin played a long game and thought he had time to be with him," McFal said. The former U.S. ambassador to Russia said, "He is calculating that Trump will lose his interests and that the Americans will cut off military aid, which will make the Ukrainian army weaker."

Others believe that the danger of the U.S. president giving up Ukraine has decreased in recent weeks.

Thomas Graham, a distinguished fellow at the Foreign Relations Council and former senior Russian director of National Security Council staff, said Trump will work to achieve one of his main goals – a reset of relations with Russia – without having to resolve the Ukraine issue first.

"It's at stake," he said. "Yes, he can still leave Ukraine - but if he does, it looks too much like a failure."

Other reports by Christopher Miller