Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or be ‘destroyed’ by Russia

Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to judge Russia’s presumption for ending its warfare successful a volatile White House gathering connected Friday, informing that Vladimir Putin had said helium would “destroy” Ukraine if it did not agree.

The gathering betwixt the US and Ukrainian presidents descended galore times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing each the time”, radical acquainted with the substance said.

They added that the US president tossed speech maps of the frontline successful Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the full Donbas portion to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian person had made successful their telephone a time earlier.

Though Ukraine yet managed to plaything Trump backmost to endorsing a frost of the existent beforehand lines, the acrimonious gathering appeared to bespeak the capricious quality of Trump’s presumption connected the warfare and his willingness to endorse Putin’s maximalist demands.

The gathering betwixt Trump and Zelenskyy came amid a caller propulsion by the US president to extremity Russia’s warfare pursuing the ceasefire secured betwixt Israel and Hamas.

Zelenskyy and his squad went to the White House hoping to transportation Trump to proviso them with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, but the US president yet declined to bash so.

The tense gathering echoed a likewise fractious brushwood astatine the White House successful February, successful which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance lambasted Zelenskyy for what they characterised arsenic a deficiency of gratitude towards the US.

During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to person adopted galore of Putin’s talking points verbatim, adjacent erstwhile they contradicted his ain caller statements astir Russia’s weaknesses, said European officials briefed connected the meeting.

According to a European authoritative with cognition of the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian person needed to chopped a woody oregon look destruction.

The authoritative said that Trump told Zelenskyy helium was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, helium volition destruct you.”

At 1 constituent successful the meeting, the US president threw Ukraine’s maps of the battlefield to 1 side, the authoritative acquainted with the brushwood said.

The White House and the Ukrainian president’s bureau did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

Trump told Fox News connected Sunday that helium was assured astir securing an extremity to the conflict, and added that Putin is “going to instrumentality something, he’s won definite property”.

Putin made a caller connection to Trump connected Thursday nether which Ukraine would surrender the parts of the eastbound Donbas portion nether its power successful speech for immoderate tiny areas of the 2 confederate frontline regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The Russian connection marks a tiny concession from that made during Putin’s past gathering with Trump successful Alaska successful August, wherever helium said helium would hold to frost the enactment of interaction elsewhere connected the frontline if Ukraine surrendered the Donbas.

That gathering besides ended acrimoniously aft Putin rejected Trump’s propulsion for an contiguous ceasefire and digressed astatine magnitude astir medieval Ukrainian history, prompting the US to research ramped-up enactment for Kyiv, including by supplying Tomahawk missiles.

But ceding the remainder of the Donbas inactive nether Ukrainian power would beryllium a non-starter for Ukraine, arsenic it would manus Moscow territory it has lone partially occupied for much than a decennary and failed to prehend contempt its efforts since Putin ordered the penetration successful 2022.

Russian forces person struggled to clasp the territory successful Kherson and Zaporizhzhia that Putin offered successful exchange, and person made virtually nary advancement connected the battlefield determination since 2022, the twelvemonth the warfare began.

“To springiness [the Donbas] to Russia without a combat is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, seat of the Ukrainian parliament’s overseas affairs committee. 

He said that Putin mightiness beryllium pushing the contentious thought “with a intent to origin part wrong Ukraine and undermine our unity”.

Merezhko added: “It’s not astir getting much territory for Russia, it’s astir however to destruct america from within.”

Trump’s belligerent repetition of Putin’s rhetoric connected Friday dashed hopes among galore of Ukraine’s European allies that helium could beryllium convinced to summation enactment to Kyiv.

That anticipation had risen aft Trump successful caller weeks expressed vexation and impatience with the Russian president’s refusal to actively prosecute successful bilateral bid negotiations with Zelenskyy.

Three different European officials briefed connected the White House discussions confirmed that Trump had spen...