Trump denies pushing Ukraine to cede all of Donetsk, proposes freezing war at current lines

US President Donald Trump stated that he supports freezing the war between Russia and Ukraine at the current front lines and denied that he called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede all territory of Donetsk Oblast.

Trump proposes keeping Donetsk divided as it is

Asked directly if he had told Zelenskyy that Ukraine must surrender all of Donetsk to Russia, Trump said no.

"Let it be cut the way it is. It's cut up right now. I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia," Trump said, Reuters reports. "You leave it the way it is right now. They can negotiate something later on down the line."

"We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines," he added. "The rest is very tough to negotiate if you're going to say, 'you take this, we take that.'"

Previously, Western news media sources claimed the US president had insisted during the meeting that Zelenskyy "give Putin all of Donbas" and had repeatedly echoed talking points from his phone call with Putin.

Russia allegedly offers territorial exchange during Trump-Putin call

According to The Washington Post, Putin demanded that Ukraine surrender Donetsk Oblast and suggested giving up parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in exchange for full control of Donetsk. However, these claims appear questionable since Russia would be unlikely to deoccupy areas that serve as a land bridge to occupied Crimea.

The sources may have misunderstood Putin's comments, possibly implying that Moscow would not demand Ukraine surrender the portions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson it still controls, but would insist only on the full surrender of Donetsk Oblast.

Russia’s initial invasion began in 2014, when it fully occupied Crimea and seized parts of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. Over the three and a half years of full-scale invasion, Russia has failed to capture either of the two eastern regions completely.

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Meeting grows heated as Trump pushes territorial compromise

According to two sources who spoke with Reuters, the meeting proved tense and disappointing for the Ukrainian side. Trump pushed Ukraine to accept a territorial arrangement and discussed providing security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, which confused the Ukrainian delegation.

"It was pretty bad," one source said. "The message was, 'Your country will freeze, and your country will be destroyed'" if Ukraine doesn't make a deal with Russia.

A separate source disputed that Trump used the word "destroyed," though both sources confirmed Trump resorted to profanity multiple times during the discussion.

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Two sources told Reuters they believed Trump was influenced by his call with Putin. One source said US officials presented a territorial swap proposal to Zelenskyy on Friday, mirroring what Putin had reportedly suggested.

Two sources identified US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff as among those most forcefully urging Ukrainians to accept the swap proposal, citing the significant Russian-speaking populations in Donetsk and Luhansk.

However, Ukrainian officials view the territory they still hold in Donetsk and Luhansk as strategically vital, believing that surrendering it would leave the rest of Ukraine vulnerable to Russian offensives, according to one person briefed on the meeting. That source characterized giving up western Donetsk and Luhansk as "suicide" for Ukraine.

Ukraine leaves without agreement on Tomahawk missiles

The meeting had been expected to focus on Ukraine's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles capable of striking deep inside Russia. However, Ukrainian officials left disappointed, departing without any agreement on weapons deliveries following Putin's call to Trump.

After the meeting, Zelenskyy confirmed he had discussed the transfer with Trump but declined to elaborate, explaining that "The United States does not want escalation."

Zelenskyy appeared before reporters alone following the meeting, after conducting a phone call with European leaders. He thanked Trump for what he called a "very good and productive" meeting and emphasized that while territorial issues will be part of any negotiations, "the most important thing is to sit down and talk about a ceasefire."

Trump described the meeting as "very interesting and sincere" and advised Russia and Ukraine to "stop where they are" and conclude a peace agreement.

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Zelenskyy rejects surrendering territory

The day after The Washington Post report on Putin's alleged territorial proposal, Zelenskyy firmly rejected any suggestion that Ukraine would surrender territory.

"We won't give anything to the aggressor, and we won't forget anything," he stated in his evening address on 19 October.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine has repeatedly sought peace and accepted ceasefire proposals, but "this war continues only because Moscow doesn't want to end it," accusing Russia of deliberately blocking every effort to stop the war, manipulating negotiations, and increasing attacks.

On 16 October, Trump announced he would soon meet Putin in Budapest. A Kremlin aide subsequently said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would speak in the coming days to prepare for the summit.