Trump tells Ukraine to give up on Crimea, joining NATO

US President Donald Trump told Ukraine it should abandon its hopes of reclaiming Crimea or joining NATO.

This comes ahead of Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders in Washington, aiming to push Kyiv toward accepting a peace agreement with Russia.

Days earlier, Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in a meeting that failed to produce a ceasefire. 

The European officials traveling to Washington on Monday aim to demonstrate support for Ukraine and to advocate for strong security guarantees in any eventual peace deal.

While Trump’s aides said that compromises would be necessary from both sides, Trump placed the responsibility squarely on Zelensky to bring the war to a close. His remarks on NATO membership and Crimea, which was seized by Russia in 2014, suggest he plans to pressure Zelensky heavily in their discussions.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.”

Zelensky has already dismissed much of Putin’s proposal from the Alaska meeting, including demands that Ukraine surrender the rest of Donetsk, of which Kyiv currently controls about a quarter. 

Instead, Zelensky is calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow broader negotiations. Trump had previously supported that idea, but after his talks with Putin, he shifted positions and signaled preference for Moscow’s approach of negotiating a deal while fighting continues.