 "Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump appear at a meeting, while they attend the funeral of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. Reuters File")
President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must “start accepting things” in ongoing peace efforts, saying that Russia holds the “upper hand” in the war — remarks that come as Kyiv prepares to submit “refined documents” on a revised peace plan to the United States.
In an interview with Politico, Trump said Zelenskyy would need to make concessions as Ukraine faces mounting battlefield losses.
“He’s going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things, you know, when you’re losing,” Politico quoted Trump as saying.
Asked whether Ukraine had lost the war, he added, “They lost a lot of land… you certainly wouldn’t say it’s a victory.”
Trump said Russia had always been negotiating from a position of strength.
“It’s not easy with Russia, because Russia has the upper, upper hand… They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger,” he was quoted as saying while crediting Ukraine’s forces for their “bravery” and “fighting”.
His comments came as Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and key European partners had completed “more developed” components of a peace proposal following intensive talks in London with leaders from the UK, France and Germany.
Kyiv is expected to present these updated documents to Washington soon.
“Today, we already discussed with our negotiating team the results of yesterday’s work in London, which was conducted at the level of the National Security Advisors of our European partners. This was agreed upon yesterday at the leadersʼ level. We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
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View AllHe said the Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US.
“Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible. We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States. And, as our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting. In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States,” he added.
Ukraine is resisting a US-backed proposal viewed by many in Kyiv as tilted toward Moscow, even as Washington pushes for a swift path to a negotiated settlement.
Ukrainian officials are also seeking firm security guarantees from Western partners to prevent future Russian aggression.
Closer to peace agreement
Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Tuesday said that Western allies are now working on three key documents aimed at advancing a settlement to the war — a 20-point framework, a set of security guarantees, and a reconstruction plan.
“I think we are closer to a peace agreement than we have been at any time since the war began,” Reuters quoted Stubb as saying at an event in Helsinki.
His comments came as President Trump increased pressure on Ukrainian President to reach a deal, suggesting it may require difficult concessions and arguing that Russia currently holds the “upper hand” on the battlefield.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede the entire eastern Donbas region before Moscow agrees to halt its offensive — a condition Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected.
With inputs from agencies