Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump lashes out at ‘boasting’ Zelensky after claiming US peace deal is close
‘He can have peace or he can fight for another three years before losing the whole country,’ US president claims
Donald Trump has hit out at Volodymyr Zelensky for saying Ukraine would not recognise Russia's occupation of Crimea.
"This statement is very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia," the US president said in a social media post, adding that a US brokered peace deal is on the horizon.
“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,” Mr Trump wrote.
It comes as high-level peace summit in London to discuss the terms of a Ukraine peace deal on Wednesday was abruptly downgraded after Mr Trump’s most senior diplomat snubbed the meeting.
Foreign ministers from France and Germany abandoned plans to travel to the UK for the talks after US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced he would not attend, citing “scheduling issues”.
Trump's press secretary asked if US has asked Ukraine to give up Crimea
On Ukraine, The White House’s press secretary was just asked if the United States has asked Ukraine to give up the Crimea and if President Trump will meet with President Zelensky when both leaders are in Rome for the pope’s funeral.
Karoline Leavitt replied: “As President Trump rightfully pointed out in that statement, it was President Obama who gave up Crimea, who allowed Russia to take it over in 2014 and so the President is not asking Ukraine to recognise Crimea.
“Nobody has asked them to do that.”
'President is frustrated' - Leavitt
The White House’s press secretary has answered questions on the current US position on Ukraine ceasefire negotiations.
Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump is “frustrated” with Zelensky, and said he believes he is “moving in the wrong direction”.
“What he is asking is for people to come to the negotiating table, recognising that this has been a brutal war for far too long,” she said.
“And in order to make a good deal, both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy, and unfortunately, President Zelensky has been trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press, and that's unacceptable to the president.
“These should be closed door negotiations. The President's national security team, his advisors, have exuded significant time, energy and effort to try to bring this war to an end. The American taxpayer has funded billions of dollars in this effort, and enough is enough.
“The President frustrated. His patience is running very thin. He wants to do what's right for the world. He wants to see peace.
“He wants to see the killing stop but you need both sides of the war willing to do that, and unfortunately President Zelensky seems to be moving in the wrong direction.”
Trump slates Ukraine for not ceding land as he warns Zelensky – full report
Trump slates Ukraine for not ceding land as he warns Zelensky to accept peace deal
Russian spy chief says 'there are always chances' for Russia-US deal
The head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, has claimed that “there are always chances” that Russia and US could reach a deal, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
It was not clear if Mr Naryshkin was referring to negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, or an economic deal between Washington and Moscow.
Analysis: The real truth behind Trump’s latest attack on Zelensky
The real truth behind Trump’s latest attack on Zelensky over potential US peace deal
Trump appears to have no basis for claim 5,000 soldiers die a week
Donald Trump, in his angry social media post attacking Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote: “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.”
He did not cite a source for the 5,000 figure. But calculations by The Independent suggest the figure is a lot lower.
Russia rarely comments on battlefield losses.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this year, over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.
That equates to 213 a week since the start of the war.
According to figures released by Kyiv, UN statistics, and open-source data published by BBC Russia, as of March 31 this year, the total death toll of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as Ukrainian civilians stood at 158,341.
Dividing that by the approximate number of weeks the fighting has lasted gives 733. Since that includes civilians, no one can be certain of how many soldiers are being killed a week.
Watch: Putin says AI will give Russia huge advantage in warning to the West
In a meeting on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of AI, saying: “Whoever begins to master these technologies faster, in this case in military affairs, will have huge advantages on the battlefield.”
Zelensky admits emotions ran high in talks
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that talks in London were marked by emotions and expressed hope that future joint work would lead to peace.
“Emotions have run high today. But it is good that 5 countries met to bring peace closer,” he wrote on social media. "The American side shared its vision. Ukraine and other Europeans presented their inputs."
He pledged Ukraine would always abide by its constitution – in other words, Ukraine will not cede Crimea to Russia, which Donald Trump insists was already done in 2014.
He added: “We are absolutely sure that our partners in particular the USA will act in line with its strong decisions” – referring to Washington’s Crimea Declaration of 2018, clearly stating the US refused to recognise Russia’s claims over Crimea.
Analysis: The real truth behind Trump’s latest attack on Zelensky
True to form, Donald Trump has again launched into victim-shaming Ukraine’s president and taking Vladimir Putin’s side after Volodymyr Zelensky repeated that Crimea can never be given to Russia.
The US president was right when he said in his latest post on social media that “there’s nothing to talk about here” when it comes to Crimea – but not for the reasons that he lays out in his characteristic rant.
Below, world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes that Donald Trump’s best option now is to walk away from his so-called peace talks:
The real truth behind Trump’s latest attack on Zelensky over potential US peace deal
Kyiv fears Moscow may be planning major drive into Ukraine
Our world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Ukraine knows what happens when it defies Donald Trump. As a taster, it suffered suspended military aid, and later its intelligence feed from the US was cut – just as Russia launched attacks in its Kursk province.
According to Kyiv, Moscow has massed close to 70,000 troops on Ukraine’s northern border and may be planning a major drive into Ukraine.
Kyiv’s forces are bracing for that – keeping the Ukrainian president safe at home, where he’s only got drones, missiles and Russian assassins to fear.
Read more analysis here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments