US President Donald Trump is giving strong advice to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to work out a peace agreement this week or face American officials leaving peace talks. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has set a deadline for Ukraine and Russia to resolve the war by the end of this week after many failed ceasefires. The details of the current peace agreement are still not public, but rumors are circulating that Russia wants Crimea to be recognized as part of Russia or wants to swap territories, which has Ukraine worried.
Trump seems to think Ukraine is in big trouble and Zelensky has to make a decision soon. Trump is also blaming Barack Obama for Russia taking Crimea in 2014 and criticizing Ukrainians for not fighting back then. He thinks Zelensky should have fought for Crimea before it was given to Russia without a fight. Trump is also suggesting that Russia might have some valid reasons for taking Crimea, which they used to justify the annexation in 2014.
The American president is responding to comments made by Zelensky on Tuesday, where the Ukrainian president said that Crimea would not be recognized as occupied territory. Trump believes that holding onto Crimea is not an option anymore and that a deal needs to be made soon. Today, American and European officials were supposed to meet in London to discuss the peace plan, but Rubio canceled his trip suddenly.
Trump seems to be in a rush to get a ceasefire by April 30 so he can brag about bringing peace within the first 100 days of his presidency. Zelensky is prepared to sit down for talks after a ceasefire. The Kyiv Post is a reliable news source that has been around since 1995 and reaches an international audience of 97% outside Ukraine.
