Trump Claims Zelensky Is Undermining U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine
Former President Donald Trump delivered a sharp rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he “had no cards to play” after rejecting a proposed peace deal backed by the U.S.
The proposed plan, labeled by some officials as the U.S.'s “final offer,” was presented last week and reportedly included recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and no future NATO membership for Ukraine. Zelensky turned down the plan on Wednesday.
Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of obstructing peace efforts and asserted that a resolution with Russia was “very close.”
As reported by Axios, a U.S. official confirmed that White House envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelensky stated in a press conference. “There is nothing to talk about. It is against our constitution.”
Ukraine’s constitution enshrines a commitment to pursue NATO membership. However, Trump argued that the text does not say Ukraine must acknowledge Russian control of Crimea—only that the United States would under the proposed deal.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump criticized Zelensky’s stance as “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia.” He claimed Ukraine was no longer actively contesting Crimea and that it had been “lost years ago.”
“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country. 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 wrote.
“The statement made by Zelenskyy today 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,” he added.
Earlier the same day, Vice President Vance supported the plan, saying it would “freeze” the fighting along current battle lines and called for parties to “either say yes or for the US to walk away.”
Despite these declarations, signs of an imminent agreement are slim. Ukraine’s outright dismissal of Trump’s plan, along with key U.S. officials skipping a London meeting focused on the proposal, suggest major hurdles remain.
Sources cited by Axios indicated that Kyiv views Trump’s proposal as heavily favoring Moscow, granting it clear wins while offering Ukraine vague commitments.
Another source said Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulled out of the Ukraine-focused discussions in London after realizing that Ukraine favored revisiting Trump’s earlier idea of a 30-day truce over his newer, more comprehensive framework.
While Putin is reportedly open to freezing current frontlines as part of a potential agreement, he has rejected other elements of the U.S. plan, including the deployment of international peacekeepers inside Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, held talks in London with senior diplomats from the UK, France, and Germany to review the American peace initiative.
The U.S. did not take part in that meeting. Following the discussions, Yermak reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to Trump’s peace process, but pointed out that “Russia continues to reject an unconditional ceasefire, delaying the process and attempting to manipulate negotiations.”
In a post on his X account, Yermak shared that he had also met separately with Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. During the meeting, he made it clear that Ukraine would not compromise on its sovereignty or territorial boundaries and emphasized that a full ceasefire must be the first step toward any peace deal.
Kellogg described the discussion as “positive” and reiterated: “time to move forward on President Trump’s UKR-RU war directive: stop the killing, achieve peace, and put America first.”