After Reported “Shouting Match”, Zelensky & Trump Agree Battlelines Should Be Frozen Before Final Peace Can Be Brokered

Update (1430ET): In what appears to be yet another confirmation of our ‘Trump Proximity Theory’, The FT reports that after President Trump’s lengthy call with Russian President Putin, the American leader urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday, warning that Putin had said he would “destroy” Ukraine if it did not agree.

The FT further noted that, according to people familiar with the matter, the meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing all the time.”

The ‘people familiar’ reportedly added that the US president tossed aside maps of the frontline in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier.

Additionally, The FT reports that according to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump told Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian leader needed to cut a deal or face destruction.

The official said that Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”

Three other European officials briefed on the White House discussions confirmed that Trump had spent much of the meeting lecturing Zelenskyy, repeating Putin’s arguments about the conflict and urging him to accept the Russian proposal.

“Zelenskyy was very negative” following the meeting, according to one of the officials, adding that European leaders were “not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps”.

Trump told Fox News on Sunday that he was confident about securing an end to the conflict, and added that Putin is “going to take something, he’s won certain property”.

However, despite The FT’s source claiming the acrimony was heavy, Ukraine ultimately managed (as we detailed earlier – below) to swing Trump back to endorsing a freeze of the current front lines.

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Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed agreement with President Trump on Sunday that the war should be frozen along current battle lines, and only then can comprehensive peace talks begin.

Zelensky said he’s ready to strike peace, but doubted that Putin is willing, saying “I’m not sure that Putin is ready to just finish this war” and that a ceasefire is vital before negotiations can start.

The Kremlin has at every turn rejected the idea of a ‘temporary’ truce, and has said it will accept nothing less than a comprehensive deal which tackles all the issues, for a permanent peace.

“President Trump is right: We have to stop where we are,” Zelensky had earlier said after meeting Trump at the White House, for his third visit there since January.

“The meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL!” Trump wrote on Truth Social of the visit.

“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!” Trump wrote.

“No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent. This is a War that would have never started if I were President. Thousands of people being slaughtered each and every week — NO MORE, GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES IN PEACE!” – the message stated further.

Zelensky failed to persuade Trump to send Tomahawks, as the White House clearly wants to avoid this escalation.

In the meantime, a report in The Wall Street Journal paints a picture of Trump putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side rather than the Russian side:

Even within the administration, officials have taken note of Trump’s hesitation to push Putin, who so far has shown little interest in concessions needed to make a deal. The White House has put more pressure on Kyiv than on Moscow, one administration official noted.

“There are tools to put more pressure on the Russians economically and militarily—and we’re not using them,” said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe.

Yet there’s still been no apparent pressure put on Zelensky to cede territory in the east, which remains a key compromise that Moscow is demanding. This pressure might be happening behind the scenes, but has not been a public talking point of the US administration.

Zelensky accepts defeat after Trump meet? | #WATCH

After meeting at the White House, Zelensky endorsed Trump’s proposal to “stop where we are,” calling it a first step toward “real peace” and stressing the need to end Russian aggression.

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But even NATO allies in Europe have time and again expressed they will never recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea, much less the Donbass. But all the while, Russian forces have continued making gains in the east along the front lines, even pushing into a central oblast of late.