The US took a decisive step towards approaching Russia’s positions on Ukraine during the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, after the US president and Special Envoy Witkoff demanded from the Ukrainian president the recognition of Russian sovereignty in Donbass.
Of course, this is not enough for Moscow, which – in turn – demands the surrender of Ukrainians in all territories where… the Russian boot has stepped and prevailed. For this reason, the Kremlin is following developments with restrained optimism and strategic composure, and is announcing that if its goals in Ukraine – which are not limited to territorial ones – are not met, it will continue the invasion until the end.
At the same time, the Russians have justified reservations about the US government’s stance and fear another… unspeakable 180-degree turn by Trump on Ukraine, something they saw happen after the summit in Alaska… By extension, Russia is sending a clear message in all directions: end the war on the winner’s terms, or… hell (at least) by 2026!
Shocking admission from Zelensky: Trump demanded our capitulation in Donbass
More specifically, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that during recent negotiations in Washington, members of the Trump administration demanded Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbass, in an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper Telegraf.
According to Zelensky, during the meeting, the US leader’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, spoke about these territories as part of Russia, referring to the relevant provision of the country’s constitution. “Mr. Witkoff says that this is included in the constitution of the Russian Federation,” he said, emphasizing that he does not agree with this demand. Zelenskyy also said that the White House is concerned about the possibility that Ukraine will take advantage of the cessation of hostilities to prepare for a military offensive.
Trump: Resolving the conflict on the terms… of the winner
Trump, during a meeting with Zelensky at the White House, asked to accept Russia’s terms for ending the conflict. The discussion was heated and ended in a confrontation: Trump insisted on the transfer of all of Donbas to Moscow. Sources also reported that during the conversation, the American leader categorically refused to approve the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. Earlier, Zelensky announced that peace is approaching in Ukraine.
What happened behind closed doors in the White House?
In fact, if we summarize all our sources, from the last hours about the Trump-Zelensky meeting, we can see several common points. Trump denied Zelensky the request for the Tomahawk missiles, without giving specific promises on the other issues. Witkoff raised the issue of the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass, receiving a negative response from Kiev. Overall, the meeting did not take place in a positive atmosphere and both sides had negative impressions.
Zelensky isolated
Zelensky was disappointed that he did not get what he expected and concluded that Trump did not intend to increase pressure on Russia. For its part, the White House saw in Zelensky’s behavior a desire to escalate the war.
Moreover, as Zelensky stated today, Trump’s associates expressed concern that Ukraine might take advantage of the pause in hostilities to prepare for a new attack (as Vladimir Putin constantly mentions). Most likely, for this reason, security guarantees should be discussed not only for Ukraine, but also for Russia.
Trump distances himself from a hard line against Russia
It seems that Zelensky and his European partners are extremely disappointed that Trump has avoided taking tough actions against Russia (such as the Tomahawk missions, tougher sanctions, etc.) and intends to continue the policy of gradually withdrawing from the war, limiting aid to Kiev and converting arms deliveries to a purely commercial basis, while avoiding an escalation in US-Russian relations.
Even this option is negative for the Ukrainian authorities, given the great doubts about Europe’s ability to finance all of Ukraine’s military needs on its own.
What is Kiev afraid of?
Moreover, Kiev probably fears that, based on Trump’s current stance, he may actually start putting pressure on Zelensky to force him to make concessions. At least indirectly, by blocking arms shipments, even for a fee, limiting the availability of intelligence information, etc. Or, the head of the White House can make very large concessions to Moscow to convince Putin to agree to a ceasefire on the front line: to lift sanctions, to officially recognize all occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian, etc.
The target is… Trump’s ego
In order to prevent such a development and to turn Trump to a tougher stance towards Russia, a barrage of publications began about the US president’s retreat in front of Putin, aiming to play on the American politician’s ego and motivate him to prove the opposite by taking tough actions against the Kremlin.
However, the result of this campaign may be the opposite, causing great annoyance to Trump, which could potentially lead to the negative consequences described for Kiev.
What did Zelensky claim?
Ukraine is close to the end of military operations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in statements today, noting that the country has approached a point where the end of hostilities is “possible,” but he reiterated that this does not guarantee that the war will end immediately.
The statement comes at a time when international talks to resolve the conflict continue and Ukraine is trying to increase pressure on Russia for a political solution.
“We are close to the possible end of the war. I tell you this with certainty,” Zelensky said, noting, however, that “this does not mean that it will definitely end.” “The US President has achieved a lot in the Middle East, and on this basis he wants to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” emphasized Zelensky, who referred to the possibility of a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and the US, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, in Budapest, and expressed his desire to participate in such a meeting.
However, he set conditions, noting that he is ready to participate in either a trilateral meeting or indirect negotiations with the mediation of Trump.
We are not leaving Donbass
In addition, Zelensky admitted that during a meeting in Washington, representatives of the US President’s team asked Kiev to withdraw from Donbass.
Zelensky, in particular, said that the US President’s special envoy, Steven Witkoff, argued that these territories belong to Russia according to its Constitution.
“Witkoff said that this is enshrined in the Constitution,” Zelensky said at a meeting with reporters, noting that he did not agree with the demand to “withdraw from Donbass.” He also said that representatives of the Trump team expressed concern that Ukraine could use the cessation of hostilities to prepare for a counterattack.
“They are constantly repeating the story that we are supposedly preparing for a counterattack, that we cannot have a ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
We want 25 more antimissile system Patriots
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country “needs” an additional 25 American Patriot anti-aircraft systems to help it cope with Russian strikes.
In his statements, Zelensky said that he “had talks with defense companies” to “prepare a contract for 25 Patriot systems.”
“We need 25 systems,” emphasized the Ukrainian president, who also referred to the choice of Budapest as the venue for the next Summit between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the United States, Donald Trump.
For a Summit in Budapest
“I do not consider Budapest to be the best location for this meeting (…) Because we are talking about peace in Ukraine, not about the elections in Hungary,” Zelensky argued. As he said, there are many “other various worthy options,” such as Switzerland, Austria, the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Turkey.
In addition, Zelensky noted that the Hungarian prime minister cannot do anything “positive for the Ukrainians” while emphasizing that European leaders want to address Trump with a request for the use of Tomahawk missiles.
We are fighting with the Russian army
Zelensky argued that “a quick end” to the conflict is not possible due to the significant superiority of the Russian armed forces. He said the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been resisting a “significantly more powerful enemy” for more than three years. “We are fighting the Russian army. That is why this conflict cannot end so quickly,” Zelensky said.
Trump to Zelensky: You will… finish
US President Donald Trump hinted to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during their October 17 meeting at the White House that Ukraine would “freeze and be destroyed” if it failed to reach an agreement with Russia.
The remark, reportedly made by Trump in frustration, highlighted the growing tension between Washington and Kiev over the pace of negotiations with Moscow.
What is certain is that the US president used harsh language throughout the meeting.
