Trump criticized Zelensky for his statement that Ukraine does not legally recognize Crimea as Russian

The US President Donald Trump has criticized Volodymyr Zelensky. The other day, he reported that Ukraine would never legally recognize Russiaʼs illegal occupation of Crimea.

This is stated in Trumpʼs post on the social network Truth Social.

"Such a statement is very detrimental to peace negotiations with Russia, because Crimea was lost many years ago — during the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama — and it [Crimea] is not even a subject of discussion. No one is demanding that Zelensky recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wants to return Crimea — why didnʼt they fight for it eleven years ago, when it was handed over to Russia without a single shot being fired?" writes the American president.

Trump is convinced that the situation for Ukraine is "terrible", and calls Zelenskyʼs words "provocative" and those that create difficulties for ending the war.

"He can have peace or he can fight for three more years before losing his entire country," the post says.

"I have nothing to do with Russia, but I have a great desire to stop the deaths of an average of five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers every week, who die without any meaning," the politician adds.

He believes that the parties are "very close to an agreement", and "a person who has no ʼtrump cards up his sleeveʼ must finally understand that no one wants to continue this ʼfield of deathʼ".

Donald Trump stressed that he “looks forward to the opportunity to help Ukraine and Russia get out of the complete and utter chaos”. He once again emphasized that a full-scale war would never have started if he were the president of the United States.

Ceasefire negotiations

Washington is negotiating with Russia and Ukraine to end the war, but a true ceasefire is still in sight. Kyiv has already agreed to halt hostilities in the Black Sea and not attack Russian energy facilities during a 30-day truce. Moscow, in return, has only promised not to attack energy facilities and said it would implement the Black Sea agreements only after Western sanctions are lifted.

The New York Post reported on April 19 that the US wants to agree on the terms of a full and comprehensive ceasefire in London next week, followed by talks with Moscow. According to the publication, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told US officials that Kyiv “90% supports” President Trump’s peace plan, which US officials presented to him during meetings in Paris.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense later denied that Kyiv had "90% agreed" with the US peace plan.

• According to Bloomberg, the American side in Paris presented to the allies a proposal for a settlement in Ukraine, which includes conditions for a cessation of hostilities and easing of sanctions against Russia. This proposal would effectively freeze the war, and the Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia would remain under Moscowʼs control, the publicationʼs sources said.
• Marco Rubio said after meeting with allies in Paris that the United States could end its mediation efforts in Ukraine in a matter of days if it does not see clear signs of a peace deal. Trump confirmed his words the same day.
• It was expected that Washington would propose recognizing illegally annexed Crimea as part of the Russian Federation and freezing the front line as part of a peace agreement as early as April 23, as reported by The Washington Post.
• Zelensky stressed that Ukraine has not received any official proposals for the exchange or relinquishment of territories, and Kyiv does not legally recognize Russiaʼs annexation of Crimea.

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