When President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet today at the White House to discuss a possible end to Ukraine’s war with Russia, Trump is going to ask Zelenskyy to give up one very important thing.
That thing is Crimea. Another concession is for Ukraine never to join NATO.
The U.S. president wrote about these concessions in a post on social media Sunday night.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote. “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!!!”
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Friday in Alaska to discuss possible peace between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy was not a part of that summit.
Still, Zelenskyy appeared hopeful that Monday’s meeting will bring peace, per CNN.
“We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine was given so called “security guarantees” in 1994, but they didn’t work.”
“Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022. Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence. Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions,” he added.
“I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance,” Zelenskyy posted. “Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
Special envoy Steve Witkoff said that Putin said the U.S. was allowed to provide Ukraine “robust security guarantees.”
“We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee,” refering to the NATO provision, Witkoff said.
NATO’s Article 5 states an attack on one member is an assault on all. This obligates allies to come to the defense of another.
“The proposed security guarantees for Ukraine would not come through NATO, but rather from select European allies in the event of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal,” per CNN.
