Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the US president referred to Ukraine having "difficult little problems" and said the corruption scandal in the country was "not helpful".
Trump did not answer a journalist's question as to whether the issue would hinder the peace talks, stating shortly afterwards: "I think that there's a good chance we can make a deal".
Once again, Trump expressed his conviction that both Russia and Ukraine wanted an end to the war.
The US president confirmed that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week.
Earlier on Sunday, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other US government officials met with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida to discuss a possible peace plan.
Rubio said the meeting had been "a very productive and useful session" in which, in his view, "additional progress" had been made.
However, he cautioned that "there's more work to be done"
The matter was complicated, with many pieces in motion and the Russian side still needed to be brought in, he said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked Trump on X "for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war".
Ukrainian delegation head Rustem Umerov characterised the meeting as "productive and successful".
"We spoke about the future of Ukraine, about everything that is important for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," he said, according to Ukrainian media.
"The United States is supporting us a great deal."
Neither he nor Rubio gave specifics on the content of the talks.
A US 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine was recently made public, but it was criticised by many as a "Russian wish list".
Europeans and Ukrainians later reworked the plan with US representatives, though several points remain contentious.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies revealed that they were investigating millions of dollars worth of energy sector bribes.
The energy minister, Svitlana Hrynychuk, and her predecessor Herman Halushchenko, who had moved on to the Justice Ministry, were subsequently dismissed from their posts, while several people were arrested.
The main suspect, Zelenskiy's long-time confidant Tymur Mindich, has fled the country. A wanted notice has been issued for him.
Investigators also referred to corruption in the defence sector and contacts between Mindich and former defence minister Umerov relating to the purchase of body armour for the army.
with reuters
14°C