Donald Trump has accused Volodymyr Zelensky of jeopardising what he claimed was an imminent peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, as the US president gave the clearest hint yet that Washington would be willing to formally recognise Russia’s seizure of Crimea as part of any agreement.
Trump wrote on social media that “Crimea was lost years ago” in 2014, when Barack Obama was president, and its control “is not even a point of discussion”. He later told reporters: “I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelensky. I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky. So far it’s been harder.”
The US proposal, largely negotiated between Washington and Moscow, would freeze the conflict roughly along the current frontlines, according to Vice-President JD Vance. He warned that if Ukraine and Russia did not accept the plan, the US would “walk away from this process”.
Zelensky countered by proposing a simple ceasefire without conditions on both sides, but this did not gain traction from the US. He stated on Tuesday that “Ukraine will not recognise the occupation of Crimea”, arguing it would be incompatible with the country’s constitution.
A Ukraine peace summit in London was hastily downgraded after Washington said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not attend. The meeting, hosted by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, involved technical talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian chief of staff Andriy Yermak.
Matthew Savill of the Royal United Services Institute said US recognition of Russia’s control of Crimea would be “de jure recognition of territory taken by force” and amount to “actively endorsing the Russian position in opposition to the European position and Ukrainian politics”.
