President Donald Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy give up on Ukrainian membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and retaking the Crimean Peninsula ahead of Monday’s visit with European leaders at the White House.
Trump said Zelenskyy could end the war “almost immediately” if he agreed to drop both his NATO membership pursuit and aspirations to retake Crimea after Russia seized the region in 2014, the president posted on Truth Social Sunday night. The Ukrainian president is set to meet with Trump and European leaders at the White House on Monday afternoon to discuss Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Russia has maintained control of the Crimean peninsula since 2014, although few nations recognize its formal claim on the region. As part of current negotiations, Putin has reportedly demanded the annexation of the Russian-speaking Donbas region, which is already mostly occupied by Russian forces.
Putin has long said that Ukrainian NATO membership would be unacceptable to Russia. NATO previously attempted to fast-track Ukraine’s membership into the alliance in 2023 amid Russia’s invasion.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has also proposed a workaround to Ukraine not joining NATO, saying the U.S. alone could offer “Article 5-like protection” instead of Kiev’s official membership.
Zelenskyy will be joined by an entourage of European leaders at the White House, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied Sunday that the extra attendees were brought in to keep Zelenskyy from being “bullied” by Trump into an unfavorable deal.
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