Russia will retain control of the Crimean Peninsula, President Donald Trump said in a new interview with Time magazine published on April 25.
Russian forces wrested Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, following a period of societal upheaval in which Russia-friendly former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.
Since 2022, Russian forces have managed to capture and exercise control over even more territory in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been reluctant to allow these Russian gains to stand, but Trump is seeking to freeze the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war along something resembling the current battle lines.
“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump said in an April 22 interview with Time, published on April 25.
“Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.”
Over the past week, Trump began circulating a proposal to end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.
In a press conference on April 22, Zelenskyy reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s formally recognizing Russian control over any territory it has captured since 2014.
“The situation for Ukraine is dire—He can have Peace or he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
The Crimean Peninsula has changed hands more than once over the decades.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, Ukrainian society became divided over efforts to expand economic relations with the European Union. Amid pressure to maintain strong trade ties with Russia, Yanukovych declined to sign an agreement to expand EU–Ukrainian economic relations.
A protest movement emerged against Yanukovych, which saw increasingly violent clashes between Ukrainian authorities and protesters.
On Feb. 21, 2014, Yanukovych signed an agreement to settle the civil unrest, reinstate the country’s 2004 constitution, and hold new elections. Despite this agreement, protesters continued to march on government buildings in Kyiv, and Yanukovych fled the country.
Yanukovych’s ouster sparked demonstrations by pro-Russian elements in Crimea, and Moscow mobilized Russian troops throughout Crimea to seize control over the territory.
By March of 2014, pro-Russian elements organized a referendum to recognize Crimea as a federal subject of Russia. The Russian Federation recognized the referendum in favor of Crimea joining Russia, but many in the international community have cast the vote as illegitimate given the circumstances at play.
In his Time magazine interview, Trump noted that the Russian annexation of Crimea happened under then-President Barack Obama’s watch.
“Would it have been taken from me like it was taken from Obama? No, it wouldn’t have happened. Crimea, if I were president, it would not have been taken,” he said.
While speaking with Time magazine, Trump also cast doubts about Ukraine becoming a member of NATO. He said Ukraine’s push for NATO entry was a contributing factor in the current war.
“I think what caused the war to start was when they started talking about joining NATO,” he said. “If that weren’t brought up, there would have been a much better chance that it wouldn’t have started.”
Amid his efforts to broker a peace deal, Trump has expressed frustrations with both sides. Last week, he threatened to pull back from his mediator role if he didn’t start to see progress.
On April 24, Trump took to social media to express his dismay at renewed heavy Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv.
