Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Trump dropped his call for a ceasefire and is now supporting a Russian plan for Ukraine to withdraw from Donbas; Zelenskyy insists on his victory as a must. He continues to state only what others ‘must’ provide to him, without indicating anything he is prepared to offer in return.
Ukrainians expressed anger and frustration over the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which ended without a ceasefire agreement.
Before the summit, the U.S. president warned of “serious consequences” if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire.
After the meeting, his tone shifted: he opposed a ceasefire before peace talks and reportedly expressed support for the Russian plan to end the conflict, which Ukraine strongly rejects.
Trump later told European leaders he believed a peace agreement could be reached if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to give up Donbas—the pro-Russian separatist region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, two of the four provinces Russia annexed at the start of the conflict.
Putin reportedly told Trump that if Kyiv withdrew from all territories still under its control, he would “freeze” deployments along existing front lines and avoid launching new offensives.
Zelenskyy said the plan, proposing Ukraine’s concession of Donbas as a condition for peace, had been communicated to him by U.S. officials.
He and European leaders categorically rejected it.
According to Washington Post and Reuters reports, Trump told Zelenskyy and European leaders that he now favored the plan.
Trump is due to discuss it in a White House meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday, to which European leaders have also reportedly been invited.
A source familiar with the follow-up conversation said Zelenskyy plans to demand clarifications regarding Trump’s current position, including why Washington abandoned its earlier insistence that a ceasefire come before peace talks, and what security guarantees the U.S. and NATO would provide.
The Alaska summit took place amid reports of renewed Russian gains on the battlefield and assessments that President Putin currently has no interest in halting the fighting.
Kyiv has voiced concern over both the land-for-peace proposal and Trump’s policy reversal.
Trump told Fox News that he and Putin had discussed territorial exchanges and security guarantees and were “largely in agreement,” adding that “we are quite close to an agreement,” and emphasizing that Kyiv would have to accept it, warning that “Russia is a much bigger power, they (the Ukrainians) are not.”
European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said that Putin was trying “to drag out the negotiations,” stating that “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon.”
Zelenskyy has firmly rejected any proposal involving the ceding of Ukrainian territory.
He stated that Ukraine would not reward Russian aggression and insisted that peace negotiations must include Kyiv.
He warned that surrendering Donbas would serve as a strategic springboard for renewed Russian offenses and that no ceasefire talks could proceed without firm security guarantees and the return of prisoners of war and abducted children.
At the same time, it appears that Zelenskyy seeks outright victory over Russia rather than ending the war through the obvious compromises both sides would need to make.
He continues to state only what others ‘must’ provide, without indicating anything he is prepared to offer in return.
Before the summit, the U.S. president warned of “serious consequences” if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire.
After the meeting, his tone shifted: he opposed a ceasefire before peace talks and reportedly expressed support for the Russian plan to end the conflict, which Ukraine strongly rejects.
Trump later told European leaders he believed a peace agreement could be reached if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to give up Donbas—the pro-Russian separatist region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, two of the four provinces Russia annexed at the start of the conflict.
Putin reportedly told Trump that if Kyiv withdrew from all territories still under its control, he would “freeze” deployments along existing front lines and avoid launching new offensives.
Zelenskyy said the plan, proposing Ukraine’s concession of Donbas as a condition for peace, had been communicated to him by U.S. officials.
He and European leaders categorically rejected it.
According to Washington Post and Reuters reports, Trump told Zelenskyy and European leaders that he now favored the plan.
Trump is due to discuss it in a White House meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday, to which European leaders have also reportedly been invited.
A source familiar with the follow-up conversation said Zelenskyy plans to demand clarifications regarding Trump’s current position, including why Washington abandoned its earlier insistence that a ceasefire come before peace talks, and what security guarantees the U.S. and NATO would provide.
The Alaska summit took place amid reports of renewed Russian gains on the battlefield and assessments that President Putin currently has no interest in halting the fighting.
Kyiv has voiced concern over both the land-for-peace proposal and Trump’s policy reversal.
Trump told Fox News that he and Putin had discussed territorial exchanges and security guarantees and were “largely in agreement,” adding that “we are quite close to an agreement,” and emphasizing that Kyiv would have to accept it, warning that “Russia is a much bigger power, they (the Ukrainians) are not.”
European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said that Putin was trying “to drag out the negotiations,” stating that “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon.”
Zelenskyy has firmly rejected any proposal involving the ceding of Ukrainian territory.
He stated that Ukraine would not reward Russian aggression and insisted that peace negotiations must include Kyiv.
He warned that surrendering Donbas would serve as a strategic springboard for renewed Russian offenses and that no ceasefire talks could proceed without firm security guarantees and the return of prisoners of war and abducted children.
At the same time, it appears that Zelenskyy seeks outright victory over Russia rather than ending the war through the obvious compromises both sides would need to make.
He continues to state only what others ‘must’ provide, without indicating anything he is prepared to offer in return.
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