United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the war in Ukraine should be halted along the current front lines, effectively suggesting that Kyiv accept the loss of most of the Donbas region to Russia.
Speaking to reporters after what was described as a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Trump denied reports that he had pushed Ukraine to surrender territory.
"We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle line," he said. Trump added that "78 percent" of the Donbas is already under Russian control and that both sides should "leave it the way it is right now."
Open-source data indicates that Russian forces currently occupy most of the Donbas, while Ukraine continues to hold fortified positions in the remaining areas. Kyiv, however, has repeatedly rejected any deal that would formalize Russian territorial gains.
According to Politico, sources familiar with Friday's talks said Trump initially floated the idea of Ukraine giving up territory to Moscow to end the war but later shifted to proposing a freeze along existing positions.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that the meeting between United States President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky grew heated, with Trump allegedly warning that Ukraine could be "destroyed" by Russia if it refused to accept a peace deal.