President Donald Trump intensified his pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to move forward with the U.S.-led peace plan, claiming that “Russia has the upper hand” in the war and Ukraine is “losing.”
“I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and for the fighting, and all of that,” Trump told POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview conducted on Monday. “But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.”
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Trump has expressed frustration with the apparent lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace discussions. He accused Zelensky of not having read the latest version of the peace proposal while talking to reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night. The version was submitted by the Trump Administration after high-stakes talks between a U.S. delegation, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week ended without a breakthrough.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. (who is not a member of the Administration but is a prominent MAGA figure) said Sunday at an event in Qatar that his father “may” walk away from the peace talks.
“No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong,” Trump told POLITICO when asked if his son’s comments were accurate. Trump also said that Ukraine should hold elections, accusing Kyiv’s leadership of “using war not to hold an election,” and suggested that the country was losing the values of democracy.
Read More: Trump Needs a New Ukraine Strategy
Trump’s latest remarks regarding the Russia-Ukraine war come amid heightened tensions between his office and Ukraine’s European allies.
In the White House’s National Security Strategy, released last week, the Administration called the negotiated end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “core interest” for Europe, but criticized nations that “hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition.”
Trump doubled down on his criticism of European leaders during his interview on Monday, accusing them of being “weak” because they “want to be politically correct.”
Read More: The Proposed Land Concessions at the Heart of the Russia-Ukraine Stalemate
The initial 28-point peace plan put together by the Trump Administration was met with skepticism from Ukraine, their European allies, and even some American officials after a widely-leaked draftshowed echoes to Russian demands. The proposal suggested that Ukraine agree to cede the entire Donbas region—including parts that Russian forces do not occupy.
U.S. and Ukraine delegations worked on a refined framework for the peace plan, addressing Zelensky’s concerns about proposed land concessions and security guarantees. But the Russian delegation noted that elements of the updated proposal were “absolutely unacceptable” to the Kremlin.
Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure from the U.S. to sign a peace deal, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.”
“Of course, Russia insists that we give up territories,” the Ukrainian President told reporters on Monday, according to the New York Times. “We, of course, do not want to give anything away. That is exactly what we are fighting for.”
He added: “The Americans today are looking for a compromise. I’ll be frank.”
Read More: Zelensky Says Ukraine Faces Losing Dignity as Trump Issues Deadline to Sign His New Peace Plan
Zelensky presented a united front with his European allies on Monday, meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London. Europe’s leaders reiterated their unyielding support for Ukraine.
“The principles remain the principles that we’ve been based on for a very, very long time, which is that we stand with Ukraine, and if there’s to be a cease-fire it needs to be a just and lasting cease-fire,” Starmer said.
Zelensky is now set to send a revised version of the peace plan to the U.S.
“We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war. The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the U.S.,” Zelensky said on Tuesday.
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