U.S. President Donald Trump castigated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 23, after the Ukrainian leader said his country would not legally recognize Russian control over Crimea.
The U.S. government recently presented a proposal to end the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.
The White House has yet to confirm details of the proposal, but Vice President JD Vance has indicated the plan would freeze the fighting along the current territorial lines.
That would, in effect, compel Ukraine to cede some of the territory it has lost to Russia.
Speaking at a press conference on April 22, Zelenskyy reiterated his position that Ukraine would not legally recognize Russia’s claims to any territory it has seized from Ukraine since 2014, including the Crimean peninsula.
Russian forces first took over Crimea in 2014.
The move came amid an upheaval within Ukrainian society, as Russia-friendly former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country under pressure from a sometimes riotous protest movement.
Russian forces have continued to assert control over other areas of Ukraine since invading the country in 2022.
Zelenskyy denounced talk of giving up territory.
“There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution,” he said.
Trump, taking to his Truth Social platform on April 23, accused the Ukrainian leader of harming peace negotiations with his recent comments.
The U.S. government has been trying for weeks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
At times, members of the Trump administration have said calls for Ukraine to retake all of the territory it has lost since 2014 are unrealistic.
“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about!” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
“The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
Trump’s Patience ‘Running Very Thin’: White House
This isn’t the first time a disagreement between Trump and Zelenskyy has spilled out into the open.Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Zelenskyy of trying to litigate his disagreements through the press.
“These should be closed-door negotiations,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt reiterated that Trump is not asking Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian territory. She also said a negotiated settlement will mean both sides will “have to walk away a little bit unhappy.”
The U.S. government came around with a more limited 30-day cease-fire, meant to prevent Ukrainian and Russian forces from continuing to attack certain energy targets.
Implementing this moratorium has proved challenging, as Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of continuing attacks on the energy sector.
Last week, Trump warned he would back off efforts to mediate a cease-fire if he didn’t see progress soon.
European Leaders Look For Next Steps
Trump and Zelenskyy’s public spat came on the same day the British Foreign Ministry was due to host a minister-level meeting between some of Kyiv’s leading international backers to discuss various proposals to settle the Russia–Ukraine war.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to attend the London gathering, but changed his plans on Tuesday evening.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the London gathering would move ahead in a downgraded fashion, with foreign ministers from France, Germany, and Ukraine in attendance. Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, filled in for Rubio as the U.S. representative at these talks on Wednesday.
Other European leaders remain wary of undermining Ukraine’s claim to Crimea.
E.U. Foreign Affairs Representative Kaja Kallas, in an interview with AFP on Tuesday, said, “Crimea is Ukraine.”
Kallas said the United States hasn’t exhausted every means at its disposal to pressure Russia into a deal, and said that it would be a mistake to now recognize a Russian claim to Ukraine as part of a peace deal.
