In a stormy White House meeting, US President Donald Trump reportedly urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s terms for ending the war, warning that Moscow
would “destroy” Ukraine if it refused.
According to a Financial Times report, quoting officials, the encounter devolved into a “shouting match”, marked by Trump’s expletive-laden outbursts and erratic behaviour, including throwing away maps of the Ukrainian front line.
‘Accept the deal or be destroyed,’ Trump tells Zelenskyy
During the meeting, Trump is said to have pressed Zelenskyy to surrender the entire Donbas region to Russia, echoing the Russian leader’s position almost verbatim. “Putin told me it’s a special operation, not even a war,” Trump reportedly said, urging Zelenskyy to “cut a deal or face destruction.”
European officials familiar with the conversation said the US leader appeared to parrot Putin’s arguments from a phone call held the day before. Despite publicly declaring earlier that Russia’s economy was on the brink of collapse, Trump allegedly praised its performance during the meeting, saying Moscow was “doing great.”
The US President’s volatile approach, they added, left Zelenskyy stunned and his team frustrated. The Ukrainian leader, who had sought Washington’s approval to receive long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, returned empty-handed after Trump declined the request.
The tense exchange reached a boiling point when Trump reportedly threw aside maps of Ukraine’s battlefield, saying he was “sick” of seeing them. “This red line – I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” he reportedly exclaimed, dismissing Zelenskyy’s attempts to explain the military situation.
Observers, as quoted by Financial Times, said the episode highlighted Trump’s unpredictable stance on the conflict, alternating between calls for peace and deference to Putin’s “maximalist” demands. It also revived fears among US allies that Trump could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty in future negotiations.
Putin’s proposal and Ukraine’s refusal
As per reports, Putin has proposed that Ukraine surrender the remaining parts of Donbas still under its control, in exchange for limited territorial concessions in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The offer is seen as a softened version of the proposal Putin presented in their earlier Alaska meeting, which also ended acrimoniously.
However, Ukrainian officials have ruled out any such agreement. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said, “To give the Donbas to Russia without a fight is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that. It’s about dividing and destroying us from within.”
Trump’s combative stance and apparent sympathy for Putin’s reasoning have rattled Ukraine’s European backers. “Zelenskyy was very negative after the meeting,” said one European diplomat, adding that leaders are now “planning next steps pragmatically, not optimistically.”
While Trump told Fox News that he remains confident of brokering peace, his endorsement of Putin’s territorial ambitions has only deepened doubts about his approach.
In response, Zelenskyy on Sunday called for “decisive steps” from the United States, the G7, and G20 nations, warning that wavering support from allies would only embolden Moscow.
However, Ukrainian officials have ruled out any such agreement. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said, “To give the Donbas to Russia without a fight is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that. It’s about dividing and destroying us from within.”
