Trump blasts Zelenskyy for refusing to formally cede Crimea to Russia as part of peace talks

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has said a deal on halting the Ukraine war is “very close,” but he slammed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy over his refusal to formally cede Crimea to Russia.

“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The outburst came after US media reports said Trump was ready to accept recognition of annexed Crimea as Russian territory, and after Vice President JD Vance said land swaps would be fundamental to any deal.

In his post, Trump was referring to Zelenskyy’s comments, published in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, in which he said that ceding Crimea is against Ukraine’s constitution.

“Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying. “There is nothing to talk about here.”

Trump lambasted Zelenskyy over the remarks.

“This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia,” Trump said, adding that if Ukraine “wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”

He added: “The statement made by Zelensky 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.”

Vance warns US will ‘walk away’ from talks

Earlier, Trump’s deputy JD Vance warned that the United States would “walk away” from negotiations unless Russia and Ukraine agree a peace deal, as envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for downgraded talks in the UK.

“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters today.

Early reports seemed to show that President Donald Trump was ready to accept recognition of annexed land in Crimea as Russian territory. Trump has since threatened to “take a pass” on efforts to end the conflict unless progress is quickly made.

Vance said land swaps would be critical to any deal.

“That means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” he added.

The reports said the proposal was first raised at a meeting with European nations in Paris last week.

Brief Easter truce shattered

The latest round of diplomacy comes amid a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.

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A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said this morning.

Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odessa.

In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.

‘Work for peace’

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of foreign ministers in London today, but his ministry said the talks had been downgraded, a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations.

“The Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official-level talks will continue,” the Foreign Office said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “as far as we understand, it has not yet been possible to reconcile positions on any issues, which is why this meeting did not take place”.

US Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is still expected to attend, along with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskyy, said he had arrived in London with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who is “likely” to meet Lammy.

“Despite everything, we will work for peace,” Yermak wrote on Telegram.

A Ukraine presidency source later told AFP that the delegation would meet with Kellogg, and that “there will be more meetings with Europeans, different meetings”.

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.

According to The Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin told Witkoff he was prepared to halt the invasion and freeze the current front line if Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, was recognised.

Peskov responded by saying that “a lot of fakes are being published at the moment”, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that his country would be ready for direct talks with Russia only after a ceasefire, though the Kremlin has said it cannot rush into a ceasefire deal.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours but has since failed to secure concessions from Putin to halt his troops in Ukraine.

He said at the weekend he hoped an agreement could be struck “this week”.

– © AFP2025