Trump Pressures Ukraine to Abandon NATO and Crimea

European officials say their presence at the White House is designed to prevent Trump and Putin from dictating the contours of a deal without them.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Ukraine to give up on ever joining NATO and to abandon hopes of reclaiming annexed Crimea, setting the stage for a high-stakes meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington on Monday as he presses Kyiv toward accepting a peace deal with Russia.

The meeting comes just three days after Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a summit that produced no agreement but deepened fears in Kyiv and European capitals that Washington is tilting toward Moscow’s terms for ending the war.

“Zelenskiy can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform late Sunday. “No getting back Obama-given Crimea, and no going into NATO by Ukraine.”

The blunt remarks reinforced European concerns that Trump may seek to impose concessions on Ukraine in what has become Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

European leaders rush to Washington

Zelenskiy will meet Trump privately in the Oval Office at 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT), before leaders from Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, NATO and the European Union join both presidents for broader talks in the White House’s East Room.

European officials say their presence is designed to prevent Trump and Putin from dictating the contours of a deal without them. “It’s important for the Europeans to be there: (Trump) respects them, he behaves differently in their presence,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker from Zelenskiy’s ruling party.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the day as a turning point. “It is probably not an exaggeration to say the whole world is looking to Washington,” he told reporters. British tabloids branded the gathering “D-Day at the White House” and “Europe Takes a Stand.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Zelenskiy in Brussels on Sunday before he flew to Washington, underscoring EU solidarity.

Kyiv’s red lines

Ukraine has already dismissed the outlines of Putin’s proposals floated in Alaska, which called for Kyiv to relinquish its remaining foothold in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian forces still control roughly a quarter of the province, which serves as a vital defensive zone against Russian advances.

Zelenskiy has instead called for an immediate ceasefire to enable deeper peace negotiations, a position Trump previously backed but appeared to retreat from after meeting Putin. The U.S. president has since suggested talks should proceed even while fighting continues, an approach closer to Moscow’s preference.

Speaking on arrival in Washington, Zelenskiy struck a conciliatory but firm tone. “We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably. Russia must end this war — the war it started. And I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace,” he said on Telegram.

Kyiv’s constitution requires a national referendum before any territorial concessions, making it politically and legally difficult for Zelenskiy to formally give up land. Opinion polls in Ukraine consistently show majorities opposing recognition of Russia’s annexations.

War grinds on

Even as the diplomacy unfolds, Russia launched overnight missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, killing seven people, including two children. “They hit an ordinary apartment block … there are no offices here or anything else, we lived here peacefully in our homes,” said Olena Yakusheva, a resident, as firefighters fought flames and rescuers combed the rubble.

On the front line, Russian troops continue to grind forward, leveraging their advantages in manpower and firepower. Putin has repeatedly vowed to fight until Moscow’s objectives are secured, including control of all Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine.

Uneasy allies

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, relations between Kyiv and Washington have cooled. His skepticism of NATO, criticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and insistence on “burden-sharing” have unsettled Kyiv. Yet Ukraine’s reliance on U.S. weapons systems, satellite intelligence, and financial support has left Zelenskiy with little choice but to engage.

Trump’s advisers say any settlement will require “compromises on both sides,” but the U.S. president’s recent rhetoric suggests he is placing the onus on Kyiv to yield. That position, analysts say, risks fracturing Western unity unless European leaders succeed in steering Trump toward robust security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for any concessions.

For now, the stakes are immense. As one senior EU diplomat put it ahead of the White House talks: “Either Washington becomes the place where a fair peace is shaped, or it becomes the place where Ukraine is pushed into an unfavorable truce that leaves Europe weaker.”

(Source: Reuters)