Russia-Ukraine peace deal ‘very close’, says Trump as he lashes out at Zelensky

A Russia-Ukraine peace deal is “very close”, Donald Trump has claimed as he urged Kyiv to accept territorial concessions as part of an end to fighting.

The US president said his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s insistence he would not recognise Russian ownership of Crimea was making it “difficult to settle” the war.

Mr Trump’s latest intervention on his Truth Social social media platform came after the latest efforts in London to broker peace led by Foreign Secretary David Lammy were downgraded to technical talks, following the decision by US secretary of state Marco Rubio to not attend.

He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country

The US administration is urging Kyiv to accept Russia’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions and to accept Moscow’s ownership of the Crimean peninsula as part of a peace settlement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces would also be required to withdraw from some territory, as would Ukraine’s military.

But Mr Zelensky has reportedly rebuffed suggestions he could cede Crimea to Moscow.

Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognise Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?

“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelensky’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about! The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.

“I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever. 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.”

JD Vance warned it is time for Ukraine and Russia to agree the terms of a peace deal or the US would “walk away from this process”.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to India, the US vice president said: “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.”

He added the US’s “very fair proposal” would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today”, with both sides having to give up some territory they currently hold, but did not provide further detail.

In a later post on X, Mr Zelensky said “emotions have run high today” but spoke positively of a meeting between Ukrainian, American and European figures, saying they had “met to bring peace closer”.

Including a screenshot of a condemnation of the occupation of Crimea made during Mr Trump’s first term in 2018, he added: “We are grateful to our partners.

“Ukraine will always act in accordance with its constitution and we are absolutely sure that our partners in particular the USA will act in line with its strong decisions.”

Mr Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey earlier met their Ukrainian counterparts, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and defence minister Rustem Umerov, as officials from the US and Europe conducted talks on efforts to end the war.

Writing on X after the talks, Mr Lammy said: “We are working at pace with US, Ukraine and European allies to end the war and secure a just and lasting peace, with senior official talks in London today.”

The UK’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell took part in the discussions, as did French and German advisers Emmanuel Bonne and Jens Poltner, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.

Mr Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, represented Washington in the discussions in the place of Mr Rubio, who was unable to attend due to a scheduling issue, according to US authorities.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the participants had “reiterated their strong support for President Trump’s commitment to stopping the killing and achieving a just and lasting peace”.

They added: “The talks today were productive and successful, and significant progress was made on reaching a common position on next steps. All agreed to continue their close co-ordination and looked forward to further talks soon.”

Meanwhile, six peers and 15 MPs have been sanctioned by Moscow in retaliation against the UK’s response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian officials criticised Britain’s supplying of weapons to Kyiv and accused the UK of anti-Russian sentiment.

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael told the PA news agency he would wear the sanction as a “badge of pride”.