Moscow, Washington, and Kyiv Clash Over Terms of Possible Ukraine Ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin has “won certain property” during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and suggested that Moscow could retain some Ukrainian territory as part of a future peace deal,  Orda.kz reports.

Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News aired on Oct. 19.

Background

The interview was recorded a few days earlier, shortly after Trump’s Oct. 16 phone conversation with Putin and before his White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The talks with the Ukrainian delegation reportedly ended without a U.S. commitment to supply Tomahawk missiles.

When asked by host Maria Bartiromo whether Putin would accept a peace deal without territorial concessions, Trump replied:

According to The Kyiv Independent, Trump did not mention Ukraine’s sovereignty or international law, implying that battlefield control could determine future borders. He added that the United States was unique in “winning wars and then leaving,” referencing past U.S. military campaigns.

Meeting with Zelenskyy

Following the Fox News interview, Trump met Zelenskyy at the White House on Oct. 17. According to The Financial Times and Washington Post, the meeting became heated after Trump repeated several Kremlin talking points, claiming Russia was “winning the war” and that Ukraine should consider freezing the conflict along the current front line.

Two U.S. officials told The Washington Post that Putin, in his Oct. 16 call with Trump, offered to relinquish occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in exchange for Ukraine ceding all of the Donetsk Region. FT reported that Trump urged Zelensky to accept these terms, warning that “if [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”

Zelenskyy later told NBC News that Trump’s comments appeared to suggest “a freeze of the war” but reiterated that “Ukraine will give nothing to the aggressor.”

In his nightly address on Oct. 19, he reaffirmed that Kyiv would not surrender additional territory.

Diplomatic Follow-Up

On Oct. 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had discussed preparations for a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, planned as part of renewed peace efforts.

Lavrov and Rubio are expected to meet in person on Oct. 23.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia’s position “has not changed,” insisting that Moscow seeks full control of the Donetsk Region and rejecting the idea of freezing hostilities along current front lines.

The consistency of Russia’s position doesn’t change, Peskov said in a phone interview with Russian media.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Oct. 19 that Ukraine should not be pressured into territorial concessions.