US President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to give up swathes of territory to Russia during a tense meeting on Friday that left the Ukrainian delegation disappointed, according to two people briefed on the discussion.
Trump also declined to provide Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine’s use, and mused about giving security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, comments that the Ukrainian delegation found confusing, added the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
After his meeting with Zelenskiy, Trump publicly called for a ceasefire on the current frontlines, a position that the Ukrainian president then embraced in comments to reporters.
A third person said Trump came up with that proposal during the meeting after Zelenskiy said he would not voluntarily cede any territory to Moscow.
Still, the meeting was a clear disappointment for Zelenskiy, who had hoped to convince Trump to supply his government with long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of hitting deep inside Russia.
Elements of the talks were first reported by The Financial Times yesterday.
In recent weeks, there had been indications Trump was deprioritising efforts to force a deal on Kyiv and Moscow, in favour of throwing his full support behind the Ukrainians.
But the Friday meeting indicates that Trump may revert to mediating a deal.
US officials repeatedly brought up the possibility of a territorial swap between Ukraine and Russia – an idea that Trump had embraced earlier in the year – and the US president said a quick agreement was essential, the sources said.
“It was pretty bad,” one of the sources said. “The message was, ‘Your country will freeze, and your country will be destroyed’” if Ukraine doesn’t make a deal with Russia.
Trump resorted to profanity several times throughout the meeting, the source said.
Two sources were left with the impression that Trump was influenced by a Thursday call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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