Oleg Davygora00:31, 26.04.25

Zelensky is under increasing pressure to agree to a forced peace.

US President Donald Trump intends to aggressively push for conditions under which Russia will retain control over occupied Ukrainian territories.

According to sources close to special envoy Steve Witkoff, “this position is literally set in stone” – Moscow will keep the captured lands.

It is noted that Trump is putting increasing pressure on Kyiv to force Zelenskyy to accept the terms of a “forced peace.”

As the article says, in the opinion of the US president, the Ukrainian leader “has no real choice” and must agree to the deal proposed by Witkoff. The publication writes:

“Trump threatens to pull out of peace process next week if no deal is reached.”

Trump’s statements about the war in Ukraine

Trump previously confirmed that he wants to recognize occupied Crimea as Russian . He also does not believe in Ukraine’s ability to ever join NATO.

He once again accused Ukraine of starting a war with the Russian Federation. According to him, the Kremlin ruler Putin decided to launch the attack after Kyiv declared its desire to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance. The journalist asked Trump why he said that he would end the war in Ukraine on the first day, to which he replied that he said it figuratively.

The US president assured that his peace plan is progressing , but it is not yet time to set deadlines for ending the war.

Shortly after, Reuters published a joint response from Ukraine and its European partners to the US proposal . In particular, they rule out the possibility of recognizing de jure Russian control over Crimea and de facto control over the Luhansk region and parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Donetsk regions.

(c)UNIAN 2025