Donald Trump's hopes for a swift peace deal to end the war in Ukraine appear to have almost entirely vanished, as the US has announced it will scale back its direct role as mediator. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Thursday (May 1): " He (Donald Trump) knows also that there is another part of the world, a whole globe that needs some attention".

"We are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings; that is now between the two parties, and now is the time that they need to present and develop concrete ideas about how this conflict is going to end," Bruce told reporters. The comments mark a significant shift to Washington's approach, after months of stalled diplomacy aimed at negotiating a ceasefire between Russian and Ukraine.

Mr Trump and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had both previously warned that the US would withdraw from mediation efforts if no meaningful progress was made.

President Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump said he was “very angry” when Putin criticized the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership.

Vice President JD Vance echoed the shift on May 1, telling Fox News that the war in Ukraine is unlikely to end "any time soon".

It is "going to be up to the Russians and Ukrainians now that each side knows what the other's terms for peace are. It's going to be up to them to come to an agreement and stop this brutal, brutal conflict," Vance said.

The announcement comes not long after it was revealed that the Trump administration informed Congress it would approve arms exports worth at least $50million to Ukraine on Wednesday.