U.S. President Donald Trump returned to discussing Kyiv giving up territory to Russia in Friday’s meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but ultimately agreed “try to end this on the current line,” according to a person familiar with the matter.
Zelenskyy had gone to the White House hoping to convince Trump to agree to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles for its fight against the Russian invasion, but left unhappy with the summit’s outcome, according to a second person with knowledge of the meeting who was granted anonymity to discuss it.
Trump, who spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours on Thursday, said after Friday’s meeting with Zelenskyy: “I think President Putin wants to end the war.”
But during the talks with Zelenskyy, according to the person familiar with the matter quoted above, the “Americans said that Putin wants to keep fighting, and he has a strong war machine.”
“Then [U.S. special envoy Steve] Witkoff entered the conversation, and said that the Russians aim to take the entire Donbas [region in eastern Ukraine] … And there was a feeling in the room that the Americans were testing the Ukrainians and what they [would] agree on,” the person said.
Giving up the well-fortified Donbas region is a no-go for Ukraine, which fears that doing so would open a clear route for Russia to take further territory more easily. It’s not the first time the Trump administration has suggested land swapping that could favor Russian strategic aims, though the U.S. president has more recently talked up Kyiv’s prospects in the war.
“Zelenskyy did not agree that Ukraine has to give up land that Russia did not manage to occupy. In the end, Trump ended the meeting, saying: ‘OK, let’s try to end this on the current line,'” the person mentioned quoted above said.
The U.S. president’s seemingly renewed credulity regarding Putin’s take on the war will frustrate European leaders, who have been working to convince Trump that Russia’s public declarations of willingness to end the conflict it started are a charade.
“With a single phone call, Putin appears to have changed President Trump’s mind on Ukraine once again,” a second person familiar with the negotiations told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook.
“Four days ago, we were discussing Tomahawk missiles; now, the focus is on Ukraine making territorial concessions,” they added. “It falls to Europe to ensure that the next shift in Trump’s position goes in Ukraine’s favor.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk led the line in that regard, writing on X on Sunday that “None of us should put pressure on Zelenskyy when it comes to territorial concessions. We should all put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression. Appeasement never was a road to a just and lasting peace.”
His message came shortly after the Financial Times, citing several sources, reported the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump had descended at several moments into a shouting match reminiscent of their acrimonious February meeting at the White House, with Trump “cursing all the time” and at one point tossing aside maps of the frontline and insisting Zelenskyy give up the entire Donbas region to Russia.
The first person quoted above, who was familiar with the meeting, told POLITICO that “Trump did not toss any war maps. He just said he was tired of different maps.”
An EU diplomat, speaking to Playbook, said the meeting was “not as bleak as reported.”
Two Republican foreign policy experts with direct knowledge of the White House meeting said there had been no swearing by Trump. “The meeting was a dud for the Ukrainians rather than a disaster,” according to one.
The other said: “It wasn’t a bad meeting, just a victim of poor timing and inflated expectations.” Republican allies of Ukraine had urged Zelenskyy to call off his trip, arguing it was poorly timed because Washington was consumed by the government shutdown and the White House was focused on the Middle East, they added.
Zelenskyy’s team was also advised not to prioritize the Tomahawks, especially in light of the Trump-Putin phone call the day before the White House meeting with Ukraine’s president.
Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said Trump’s message had been “mixed.” Asked if he was confident of getting Tomahawks, he responded with a wry smile: “I’m realistic,” he said, adding that Trump’s reluctance was only the U.S. position “for today.”
Jamie Dettmer, Nick Vinocur and Lola Boom contributed to this report.