During a meeting at the White House on Friday, President Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Russia’s terms for a peace deal, warning Russian President Vladimir Putin could “destroy” the Ukrainian leader if he didn’t make the concessions, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
People familiar with the matter told the outlet that the meeting descended into a “shouting match” multiple times and that Trump was telling Zelensky to give up control of territory in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. The president also tossed aside a map of the Ukrainian frontlines, saying he was “sick” of seeing it.
“This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” Trump reportedly said.
The report said that Putin made a new offer to Trump when they spoke on the phone on Thursday by proposing that Ukraine cede the Donbas in exchange for Russia ceding small parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The position marks a concession from Moscow as its previous offer involved Ukraine ceding the Donbas and freezing the lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Trump also told Zelensky during the meeting that Ukraine was losing the war and that the Russian economy was doing “great,” contradicting recent public comments he made about the conflict.
A European official told the FT that Zelensky was feeling “very negative” after the meeting. Despite the reported tensions, Trump and Zelensky kept things cordial in their public comments, and Trump appeared to endorse the idea of freezing the current battle lines in a post on Truth Social.
“The meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,” Trump wrote.
“They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent,” the president added.
Zelensky also left the meeting on Sunday without getting Trump to pledge to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, which are nuclear-capable and have a range of over 1,000 miles. When speaking to reporters after the meeting, Zelensky said that he wouldn’t comment on the possibility of the US providing long-range weapons because “the United States does not want an escalation.”
High-level US and Russian officials are set to hold talks this week ahead of the next summit between Trump and Putin, which is expected to take place in Budapest, Hungary, sometime over the next two weeks.
