Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can expect a “difficult” meeting with US leader Donald Trump in the White House as the parameters of a peace deal are not all in Kyiv’s favor, an expert said.
“He’s been told in no uncertain terms by Trump… that he is going to have to accept that the territory that’s been lost is mostly lost for the long term,” Robert English, Director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California, told CNN’s Polo Sandoval.
English said “any illusions of getting back Crimea and much of the Donbas are over.”
“There’s behind the scenes, a clear understanding that that bitter pill Zelensky will have to swallow. And now we need to focus on security guarantees for Ukraine going forward and make those robust.”
A delegation of European leaders, including France’s Emmanual Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Britian’s Kier Starmer and the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen, will join Zelensky in Washington, DC, in a coordinated effort to support Kyiv and shape the future of Western support for Ukraine.
“The very fact that they’re all there together and trying to reach a common understanding is critical,” English said, but highlighted that the focus in the multilateral talks would likely be on crafting long-term security arrangements for Ukraine without formal membership in NATO.
“As long as they are providing troops and promises to come to Ukraine’s aid, and the US Is providing supplies, intelligence, logistics that all together, especially if there’s a kind of an agreement, a treaty that could last years and be renewed indefinitely, that’s pretty close to NATO-like protection and gives Ukraine what it hasn’t had up until now.”
These Ukrainian territories are in the spotlight during war talks
From CNN staff
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made some concessions on the “land swaps” he’s seeking, President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Wikoff told CNN, though the details of those discussions have not been made clear.
Neither Putin, nor any figure in the Russian government, has suggested a retreat from Moscow’s maximalist demand that all four regions must be ceded to its control.
Late on Sunday, Trump previewed his own message on concessions that he said President Volodymyr Zelensky should make, saying that Ukraine should give up on getting back Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and that it agree never to join NATO.
Also under discussion are Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, four regions of Ukraine that Russia illegally annexed in 2023.
Luhansk is the only one Russia almost wholly occupies. It has failed to take the key fortress belt of cities in Donetsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded full control of four Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine
Trump says Crimea and NATO are off the table for Ukraine as Zelensky lands in Washington. Here’s the latest
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has arrived in Washington, DC, and will be joined by European leaders when he meets Donald Trump in about 12 hours.
Trump is ratcheting up pressure on Ukraine to agree to terms to end the war with Russia, seemingly echoing some of Moscow’s talking points two days after meeting President Vladimir Putin.
Late on Sunday, Trump previewed the message he’ll deliver to his White House visitors: Zelensky must agree to some of Russia’s conditions for the war in Ukraine to end. The conditions he referred to — that Ukraine cede Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and that it agree never to join NATO — are among those Putin has set for ending the war.
The White House has signaled momentum toward a potential peace deal to end Russia’s war, with US envoy Steve Witkoff telling CNN that Putin has agreed to allow US security guarantees for Ukraine and made concessions on “land swaps”.
But many sticking points and questions remain. “The Constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land,” Zelensky said Sunday, repeating his red line on territory.
