President Donald Trump, after repeatedly promising to quickly end Russia's war on Ukraine, has changed his tune and his attitude dramatically.

Trump used the analogy in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying that it was sometimes better to let children fight for a while before pulling them a

But halting progress, ever-more deadly drone attacks and unmoving negotiating positions seem to have taken their toll. On Thursday, Trump used a striking analogy to concede the warfare was nowhere near over, and that he did not, at that moment, feel it was best to intervene.