President Donald Trump’s patience is being tested by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a barrage of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 100 more this week, one day ahead of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s fourth visit to Moscow.

Trump told reporters Friday he believes it is «possible» and even «very probable» his administration will negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. 

«I think, in the end, we’re going to end up with a lot of good deals, including tariff deals and trade deals. We’re going to make our country rich,» Trump said ahead of his departure for Rome. «We’re going to try and get out of war so that we can save 5,000 people a week. That’s what my aim is.»

TRUMP’S ‘STOP’ MESSAGE TO PUTIN ECHOES BIDEN’S ‘DON’T’ FROM 2022

Trump repeated that he has no deadline for a deal, only that one must be ironed out «as fast as possible.»

He made his comments one week after the U.S. threatened to abandon talks if Russia and Ukraine didn’t soon reach a deal and one day after Trump issued a direct message to Putin on social media to «stop» bombing Ukraine. 

«I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the peace deal DONE,» he wrote. 

Trump also conceded that his repeated claims from the campaign trail that he would have the war in Ukraine stopped within 24 hours of taking office were not based on realistic goals but were «figurative.»

«I said that as an exaggeration,» he told reporters, again blaming the war on his predecessor, President Biden.

The Friday, April 25, 2025, front page of the New York Post reacted to President Donald Trump telling Russian President Vladimir Putin to «stop» bombing Ukraine. (New York Post)

But it appears Trump’s verbal warnings to Putin have fallen on deaf ears, similar to the results of Biden’s verbal warnings. Trump has repeatedly accused Biden of being partly at fault for the war, though he has not explained why. 

Former Moscow CIA Station Chief Dan Hoffman said he and other security experts repeatedly warned that, under the Biden administration, Ukraine was not sufficiently armed to adequately take on Russia. 

«After failing to deter Putin’s invasion, the Biden administration just kept Ukraine in the fight but didn’t give Ukraine a chance to punch back fast enough or hard enough,» he said.

«There are three options,» Hoffman added, explaining how the U.S. can use its position as leverage over Moscow. «One, entice Russia. That’s what Trump is trying to do with trade deals and eliminating sanctions. And Putin has kind of plowed through that by rejecting confidence-building ceasefire deals.

TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL

«The second option is to make Putin pay on the battlefield so that he feels so much pain he has to stop the invasion,» he added. «We convince Putin that we’re going to rearm Ukraine by saying, ‘We’ve offered you a great deal. You don’t want the deal, we’re going to arm the Ukrainians.

«The third option is to just walk away and let Europe fend for themselves and support Ukraine as much as they can. We would run the risk that Russia would take more territory from Ukraine. That would be a victory for Russia and its allies – China, North Korea and Iran.

«Let them do it, and then you’ll pay the price everywhere else in the world,» Hoffman warned, referring to China’s threats against Taiwan. «Americans don’t like to fight wars. OK, we don’t like to lose wars either.»

Ukrainian searchers clear rubble after a Russian ballistic missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

NATO CHIEF SENDS MESSAGE TO RUSSIA: YOU ‘ARE NOT WINNING THIS’

An official with knowledge of the talks told Fox News Digital Friday that «Ambassador Witkoff is in Russia to meet with President Putin as part of President Trump’s efforts to make peace. 

«It’s long past time for the death and destruction to stop, to move past the failed strategies of the past and for an end to this devastating conflict,» the official added without commenting on the «substance of negotiations.»

A report by Axios this week suggested the White House had extended a «final offer» to Ukraine and Russia that called on Kyiv to recognize Russia’s occupation of nearly all the Luhansk region and the occupied areas of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

It also said the U.S. would agree to recognize Crimea, which Putin illegally seized from Ukraine in 2014, as now legally a part of Russia, and that Washington would lift sanctions. 

A woman with two children cries near a makeshift memorial on a playground while honoring the memory of a Russian missile strike’s victims April 6, 2025, in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Mykola Domashov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC «UA:PBC»/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Neither the White House nor the National Security Council responded to Fox News Digital’s repeated questions about whether there will be consequences for Putin should he fail to enter into an agreement with Ukraine.

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The administration also did not comment on why it believes Putin wants to enter into an agreement with the U.S. when security officials have repeatedly warned otherwise. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already said he will not acknowledge Crimea as a part of Russia but rather as Ukrainian land illegally occupied by Russia.

Zelenskyy also on Thursday posted a 2018 «Crimea declaration» by Trump’s first-term Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, which said, «No country can change the borders of another by force» in a move to signify Trump’s apparent position change that now favors Russia.

En enero de 2021, Oliver Stephens, un joven de 13 años, salió de su casa en la localidad de Reading, en Inglaterra, para encontrarse con una chica con la cual había comenzado a hablar en redes sociales. Pero nunca volvió, ya que cuando llegó al parque donde había acordado el plan, fue sorprendido por dos adolescentes de su misma edad que lo apuñalaron hasta la muerte.

El caso causó conmoción en la sociedad inglesa no solo por la edad de los agresores, sino por la oscura trama que se dio a conocer cuando la policía realizó los peritajes en sus celulares.

Leé también: “No me gustan los lunes”: la confesión de una adolescente que mató a dos personas en un tiroteo escolar

Un video, chats escalofriantes y un plan macabro

Semanas antes de su muerte, “Olly” -como lo llamaban cariñosamente sus padres- vio un video publicado en la plataforma Snapchat en donde se mostraba un ataque a otro chico. En esas imágenes, se podía ver cómo un nene más joven que él estaba siendo humillado por otro grupo de adolescentes.

Este tipo de bullying es conocido como “patterning”, el cual consiste en grabar a la víctima mientras se lo acosa y luego compartirlo en redes sociales. Esto hace que se multiplique el sufrimiento por parte de la persona agredida.

Con la intención de proteger a ese chico, Oliver le envió ese video a su hermano mayor para que pudiera intervenir. Sin embargo, de alguna manera, los autores de la agresión -dos varones de 13 y 14 años- se enteraron que lo que Stephens había hecho y consideraron que los había “espiado” y “delatado”.

A partir de esto, ambos adolescentes comenzaron a conspirar para llevar a cabo un ataque contra Olly. Los investigadores que luego trabajaron en el caso encontraron cientos de mensajes de voz en Snapchat, en donde se escuchaba cómo planificaron cada paso.

En esos chats, también participó una chica de 13 años, que fue reclutada por los otros adolescentes para que formara parte de la agresión. Ella era la única que conocía a “Olly” en persona, aunque no tenían una relación cercana.

“Vas a morir mañana, Olly”, “Le daré unos golpes o lo apuñalaré”, dijeron los jóvenes en mensajes de voz que quedaron registrados en la red social. A su vez, la nena admitió que “estaba muy emocionada” por el plan.

El 3 de enero de 2021, la joven acordó con Oliver de encontrarse en Bugs Bottom, un campo de la localidad de Reading, en Inglaterra, cerca de la casa de la víctima.

Stephens llegó al lugar alrededor de las 17:00 horas y se encontró con ella. Sin embargo, a los pocos segundos, dos adolescentes lo sorprendieron y el menor de ellos lo atacó con un cuchillo por la espalda dos veces. El otro, de 14, lo golpeó en varias partes del cuerpo. Minutos después, los tres chicos huyeron de la escena.

En ese momento, una enfermera, que estaba paseando a su perro en el mismo parque, presenció el hecho y se acercó a asistir a Oliver mientras los agresores se escapaban. Con el correr de los minutos, varias personas intentaron ayudar al joven, incluyendo a sus padres que fueron alertados rápidamente. A pesar de ello, Stephens perdió la vida antes de ser trasladado a un hospital por la gravedad de las heridas.

El peligro de las redes sociales

El fiscal que estuvo a cargo de la investigación, Andy Howard, describió el caso como “sin precedentes”, ya que el 90% de las pruebas recolectadas y presentadas en el juicio provenían de los celulares de los adolescentes acusados. “Nos sorprendió mucho la cantidad de evidencia digital”, indicó.

Tras el ataque, los agresores intentaron destruir cualquier indicio que los asociara con el hecho. Por eso, tiraron la ropa manchada de sangre a un descampado e intentaron borrar todo el material incriminatorio de sus dispositivos. Asimismo, también buscaron en Internet información sobre el apuñalamiento que habían llevado a cabo.

Entre la evidencia, se destacó un mensaje que escribió el chico mayor en donde admitió la autoría del crimen: “Fuimos mi amigo y yo. Empecé a pegarle y luego mi amigo lo apuñaló”. Por su parte, el menor, que fue quien hirió a Oliver, dijo en un chat que había cometido “el mayor error de su vida” y que solo lo hizo “por pura ira”.

Después de un juicio que duró cinco semanas, ambos adolescentes fueron declarados culpables de asesinato por unanimidad. Por otra parte, la joven de 14 años también fue llevada a la Justicia bajo la acusación de homicidio involuntario, ya que se trató de la persona que facilitó el crimen. También fue señalada como culpable.

El 24 de septiembre de 2021, el juez condenó al mayor de los varones a 13 años de prisión, mientras que el otro recibió 12. En el caso de la chica, inicialmente fue sentenciada a tres años y dos meses en una institución para delincuentes juveniles, pero luego se incrementó la pena a 5 años por apelación.

Hasta el momento, sus identidades no se dieron a conocer, ya que se trata de menores de edad.

Leé también: “Unas voces me lo pidieron”: el macabro caso de Kip Kinkel, el joven que asesinó a sus compañeros de escuela

Los padres de Oliver, Amanda y Stuart Stephens, afirmaron que las redes sociales tuvieron un rol “fundamental” en el asesinato de su hijo. “Las redes no son culpables del asesinato, pero no hicieron nada para protegerlo, y sin ellas todavía estaría acá“, sostuvo el padre en una entrevista para la BBC.

En la actualidad, ambos son activistas que promueven la regulación de las plataformas digitales para proteger a las infancias y adolescencias.

Five Jewish Democratic senators demanded answers from President Donald Trump on the calculus behind penalizing Harvard University, its medical school and other collegiate institutions across the country under what they called the pretext of antisemitism on campus.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut lambasted the president, while saying they agree on the scourge of antisemitism over time.

«Dear President Trump, we write regarding your administration’s assault on universities, including threats and actions to withhold funds or otherwise punish certain institutions of higher learning, in what you claim is an effort to eliminate the very real threat of anti-Semitism on college campuses,» the Thursday letter began.

«We also write as Jewish senators who have spoken out strongly against rising antisemitism here in the United States, including on college campuses, and who have called on university leaders to do more to tackle antisemitism with accountability and action in the wake of the horrific October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.» 

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From left: Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (Getty Images)

The quintet called Trump’s decisions to freeze funding for Harvard and focus on other schools where antisemitic behavior and protests abounded last year «broad and extra-legal attacks» — adding they were «troubled and disturbed» by his decisions.

The lawmakers said Trump’s actions «seem to go far beyond combating antisemitism» and into the range of «using what is a real crisis as a pretext to attack people and institutions who do not agree with you.»

Speaking of Harvard specifically, the senators said threatening to revoke the Ivy League college’s tax-exempt status and demeaning faculty as «woke, radical left idiots» goes far beyond constructive efforts to support Jewish students.

«They instead seem to be aimed broadly at changing the way the university functions, exacting huge penalties in ways wholly unrelated to combating anti-Semitism, and we fear are instead aimed at undermining or even destroying these vital institutions while hiding behind claims of tackling antisemitism as a guise,» the letter said.

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They offered an olive branch in seeking to work with Republicans on combating antisemitism, but reiterated their belief Trump’s overtures are «simply a means to an end» for the mogul to trash his ideological opposition.

They called on the president to respond by Wednesday of next week with data and details as to why specific colleges were targeted for a federal funding freeze, and what the calculus was for doing so.

«In the case of Harvard specifically, what specific charges had the administration made against Harvard in regards to antisemitism? Please describe your charges in specific detail, including naming specific cases and why you believe the steps that Harvard has already taken to strengthen response to antisemitism are insufficient,» they wrote.

They also said Trump has targeted Harvard Medical School, lauding its cancer research in questioning that particular decision.

«What is your legal justification … when almost every legal scholar has ruled that you have no basis for doing this?» they concluded.

Separately, Schiff said during a debate last year that he also received several antisemitic attacks, particularly online.

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«I take this issue very personally,» he said. «What’s happening on college campuses, I think, is terrifying.»

In February, Rosen joined Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to introduce the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

«Antisemitism is on the rise across the nation, particularly on college campuses, and Congress has a responsibility to do everything in its power to fight back against this hate,» Rosen said in a statement.

Schatz, who is seen as a prime potential successor to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., as Democrats’ No. 2 caucus leader, tweeted in 2023 that he opposes antisemitism and Islamophobia.

«Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism. Wanting to disable Hamas is not Islamophobia. Wanting to protect civilians is neither. I may delete this once my comments become a mess,» he wrote.

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Earlier this year, Schumer published a book, «Antisemitism in America: A Warning,» about his own life experiences.

In a tweet about the letter, Blumenthal called antisemitism «a real & horrific threat on campuses — & must be fought — but it should not be exploited as a pretext to target universities & silence dissent.»

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response to the joint letter.