President Donald Trump ripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, accusing him of damaging ongoing peace talks after Zelensky said that his country will “not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea.”
Zelensky made the comment on Tuesday after the United States proposed that the country recognize Russia’s takeover of Crimea in exchange for moving closer to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian president completely dismissed the U.S. proposal, saying, “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.” Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.
Trump fired back at Zelensky, saying that the Ukrainian government was not asked to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
The president then blasted Zelensky, saying he continues to make “inflammatory statements” that make it “difficult to settle this War.”
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump continued. “I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war drags into its fourth year. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a limited ceasefire deal that the Trump administration oversaw.
According to The Wall Street Journal, last week, Trump officials presented Ukraine with multiple ideas for ending the war, including the proposal to acknowledge Russia’s control of Crimea. Ukrainian officials were supposed to respond to the U.S. proposals during a meeting with European leaders in London on Wednesday, but those plans were canceled after Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a last-minute decision to skip the talks, The New York Times reported.
Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the United States is close to “walking away” from peace negotiations if Ukraine and Russia don’t make progress. Vance’s comments echo remarks made by Rubio earlier this week when he said that the Trump administration was “not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
Trump warned that Zelensky’s approach to the latest peace proposals from the United States “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that!”
“We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump added. “I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”
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[[{“value”:”
President Donald Trump ripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, accusing him of damaging ongoing peace talks after Zelensky said that his country will “not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea.”
Zelensky made the comment on Tuesday after the United States proposed that the country recognize Russia’s takeover of Crimea in exchange for moving closer to a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian president completely dismissed the U.S. proposal, saying, “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.” Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.
Trump fired back at Zelensky, saying that the Ukrainian government was not asked to recognize Crimea as Russian territory.
“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
The president then blasted Zelensky, saying he continues to make “inflammatory statements” that make it “difficult to settle this War.”
“He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” Trump continued. “I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.”
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war drags into its fourth year. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a limited ceasefire deal that the Trump administration oversaw.
According to The Wall Street Journal, last week, Trump officials presented Ukraine with multiple ideas for ending the war, including the proposal to acknowledge Russia’s control of Crimea. Ukrainian officials were supposed to respond to the U.S. proposals during a meeting with European leaders in London on Wednesday, but those plans were canceled after Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a last-minute decision to skip the talks, The New York Times reported.
Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the United States is close to “walking away” from peace negotiations if Ukraine and Russia don’t make progress. Vance’s comments echo remarks made by Rubio earlier this week when he said that the Trump administration was “not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
Trump warned that Zelensky’s approach to the latest peace proposals from the United States “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that!”
“We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump added. “I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”
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