President Trump has said that it is ultimately up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the ongoing war with Russia.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
President Zelensky responded on X, emphasizing the importance of lasting peace. “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting,” he wrote. Zelensky recalled past territorial losses, noting, “Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our east, part of Donbas, and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine was given so-called ‘security guarantees’ in 1994, but they didn’t work.”
After arriving in Washington on Sunday, Zelensky expressed hope that coordination with the U.S. and European partners would help bring Russia to the negotiating table. “I am grateful to the president of the United States for the invitation. We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably,” he wrote on Telegram. “And I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace.”
Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly dropped his previous demand for a ceasefire in Ukraine, according to his special envoy, Steve Witkoff. Trump had initially warned that he would walk out of talks with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire, drawing criticism in the U.S. over the weekend.
Witkoff told CNN that Trump “pivoted” toward pursuing a broader peace deal after Putin reportedly made significant concessions on land swaps and NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine. “The thesis of a ceasefire is that you’d be discussing all of these issues that we resolved in Alaska,” Witkoff said. “We cut through all kinds of issues that would have to be discussed and agreed to during a ceasefire period.”
On the ground, Russia claimed on Sunday to have captured the villages of Popiv Yar and Ivano-Darivka in the Donetsk region, while Ukraine has been accused of downplaying its losses in what has become the fiercest and deadliest front line in the conflict. Both sides appear to be racing to secure strategic positions ahead of potential negotiations or a temporary halt to hostilities. Reports indicate that Putin expects Ukrainian forces to withdraw from parts of Donetsk in exchange for peace—a move reportedly supported by Trump but currently rejected by Zelensky.
