The world has been holding its breath for a breakthrough in the war between Russia and Ukraine — and this weekend, all eyes turned to Alaska as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down face-to-face.
Many expected some kind of peace deal to come out of the meeting. Instead? Nothing.
Made his stance clear
Now, Trump is turning his attention to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy —and their meeting in Washington is already setting the stage for fireworks.
For context: the last time Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance crossed paths on U.S. soil, it was chaos. Sharp words were exchanged, and the two leaders left on very bad terms.
But today (August 18), Trump and Zelenskyy are back in the same city — this time with peace, NATO, and the future of Ukraine hanging in the balance.
And Trump didn’t wait for the meeting to make his stance clear. Posting on Truth Social, he declared:
”President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Zelenskyy’s response
That statement set off a storm online — and it didn’t take long for Zelenskyy to respond with his own carefully worded message.
“I have already arrived in Washington, tomorrow I am meeting with President Trump,” he tweeted.
“Tomorrow we are also speaking with European leaders. I am grateful to @POTUS for the invitation. We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East — part of Donbas — and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.
“Or when Ukraine was given so-called ‘security guarantees’ in 1994, but they didn’t work. Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022.”
Ukraine’s disarmament deal
After the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine inherited about a third of its nuclear arsenal — the world’s third largest at the time. But in 1994, under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its weapons in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., UK, France, China, and Russia. Those guarantees were supposed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Three decades later, with Russia’s full-scale invasion proving those promises worthless, many Ukrainians now believe disarming was a mistake. Former officials admit they were “naive” to trust that Russia wouldn’t attack and that the West would step in if it did.
This history is why Zelenskyy insists that vague “assurances” are no longer enough—Ukraine now demands binding guarantees, like NATO membership, as the only real protection against future Russian aggression.
“Russia must end this war”
Zelenskyy also pointed out that Ukrainian forces are seeing progress on the battlefield.
“The country’s soldiers have had ‘successes’ in the Donetsk and Sumy regions,” he wrote. “I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance.
“Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace. Thank you!”
With Trump pitching “instant peace” and Zelenskyy insisting peace must be lasting, today’s meeting in Washington could set the tone for what comes next in the world’s most dangerous conflict.