WASHINGTON, — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy could end the war with Russia “almost immediately” if he accepts a negotiated deal, warning that Kyiv’s NATO ambitions and the return of Crimea were no longer on the table.
Trump’s comments came a day before Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House, where he will be joined by European leaders alarmed that Washington could lean toward concessions favourable to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He added that Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, would not return to Kyiv, and NATO membership for Ukraine remained “NO GOING INTO NATO.”
Trump has previously suggested any deal would involve “some swapping, changes in land” between the two countries.
Zelenskyy quickly pushed back, arguing that past concessions to Moscow — from Crimea to security guarantees — had only emboldened Putin.
“Peace must be lasting,” he posted on X. “Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of Donbas, and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.”
The Ukrainian president stressed that Kyiv would not surrender more land to Russia: “Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron are accompanying Zelenskyy to Washington. Macron warned that “showing weakness today in front of Russia” would pave the way for future conflicts.
Despite Trump’s dismissal of NATO membership, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin had agreed to explore a security guarantee resembling NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that peace was still distant: “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement.”
