Trump demands Zelensky give up Ukrainian territory in exchange for a ceasefire with Russia

US President Donald Trump has pressured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to cede control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine in exchange for an end to Russia’s war in the neighboring country that has been ongoing since 2022, a senior Ukrainian official said Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that Trump urged Zelensky during talks in Washington on Friday to withdraw troops from territory still under Russian control in the industrial region, a key Russian demand.

The official noted that the talks with Trump weren’t easy, noting that diplomatic efforts to end the war appear to be going in circles.

Zelensky met with the US president at the White House last week, hoping to capitalize on Trump’s growing dissatisfaction with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, over the latter’s refusal to heed his repeated calls for a ceasefire.

But the Ukrainian president returned empty-handed after Trump refused to supply Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles and urged him to strike a deal to end the war.

Following the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social that his meeting with Zelensky was “very interesting and friendly, but I told him, as I suggested to President Putin, that it’s time to stop the killing and make a deal!”

Later, the US president deemed it necessary to begin any negotiations based on the current situation on the front line, to stop the “massacres” in Ukraine.

On Sunday, he stressed the need to freeze the current front lines, while endorsing Donald Trump’s peace efforts, Europeans are also seeking to recall some of the principles that have guided them since the war erupted in February 2022, starting with the sanctity of borders in Europe.

A joint statement by the leaders of European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and the Ukrainian president, stated, “We strongly support President Trump’s position on the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for the current line of engagement to be the basis for negotiations”.

But they stressed their “adherence to the principle of non-alteration of international borders by force,” pledging to continue their support for Ukraine so that Kyiv maintains the strongest possible position before, during, and after the ceasefire.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed on Tuesday from the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, that territorial concessions in Ukraine can only be negotiated by its president, Zelensky.

“No one can do that, and therefore Ukraine is the one who makes decisions about its fate and its territory,” Macron added in response to a question about the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest, however, this meeting may not take place anytime soon.

A US official said Tuesday that Trump doesn’t plan to meet with his Russian counterpart anytime soon, days after announcing a meeting in Budapest within the next two weeks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone on Monday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, after Trump announced that the two ministers would meet this week to arrange a summit in the Hungarian capital.

“There is no need for an additional meeting between the two foreign ministers, and President Trump isn’t scheduled to meet with President Putin anytime soon,” the US official said.

But the US official described the call between Rubio and Lavrov as productive.

Russia downplayed the chances of a meeting between Putin and Trump happening anytime soon.

The Kremlin said that no precise timetable had been set for the summit, stressing the need for serious preparations between Moscow and Washington before setting a date.

European leaders, with the exception of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Thursday for a European summit where they hope to agree on continued financial support for Ukraine.

A meeting of the coalition of countries willing to provide security guarantees to Ukraine is also expected to be held on Friday.

The leaders of these countries wrote, “We’re working on measures that will enable the full use of the value of Russia’s frozen sovereign assets so that Ukraine can have the necessary resources”.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas spoke on Monday of broad support within the bloc for the proposal to mobilize these frozen Russian assets to provide Kyiv with a €140 billion loan.