Trump says Zelenskyy hasn’t read US peace proposal
(L/R) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump stand for a family photo with other European leaders in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Tensions between US President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are escalating once again after the White House leader accused the Ukrainian president of not yet reading US peace proposals.
“I’m a little disappointed that President Zelenskyy had not yet read the proposal until a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters Sunday night. “His people love him but he doesn’t [read it],” Trump added.
“I think when you think about it, Russia would rather have the whole country, but I believe Russia is happy with that, but I’m not sure Zelenskyy is happy with that,” Trump said.
It is unclear which version of the US-backed peace plan for Ukraine Trump was referring to, but the president’s comments came a day after talks between US and Ukrainian officials ended in Miami with no apparent agreement on the final version of the draft peace plan.
Various versions of the so-called peace plan have emerged as Russia and Ukraine, through American intermediaries, haggle over key details in the agreement, especially when it comes to Russia’s demands for territorial concessions and security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump’s outgoing envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Sunday that a deal to end the war is “really close” and that it depends on resolving two main issues: the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, largely occupied by Russian forces, and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Ukraine made a more cautious assessment of the progress of the negotiations, with Zelenskyy saying: Sunday night address He said the Miami talks between his new chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Ukraine’s military chief of staff, Gen. Andriy Hnatov, and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, were “constructive, although not easy.”
Zelenskyy stated that he would have a detailed meeting with the negotiation team in person rather than by phone, and stated that “some issues can only be discussed in person.”
Talks move to London
Zelenskyy traveled to London for talks on Monday as Kiev and its European allies scramble to ensure Ukraine’s territorial integrity and future security (as well as Europe’s) are not jeopardized. In the face of increasing pressure from the United States to accept peace proposals that were initially seen as largely favorable to Russia.
Downing Street said on Sunday that Zelenskyy had met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for talks that “will focus on ongoing peace negotiations and next steps.” Zelenskyy will also travel to Brussels and Rome this week for further talks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders during negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025.
Alexander Drago | Reuters
Ukraine’s European allies are anxious to be seen and heard as peace proposals are discussed without their participation, especially given the security implications any agreement would have on the continent as a whole.
Britain and France are among the leading proponents of this proposal. “Coalition of Volunteers” A group of countries that could be part of a “reassurance force” that helps guarantee security in post-war Ukraine.
Russia strongly opposes the idea of deploying foreign troops to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said these would be “legitimate targets.”
European leaders will become more nervous about the potential for the United States to meet Russia’s demands after the document is released. Trump’s latest national security strategy announced last FridayStating that Europe is at risk of “erasing civilization” and that it is “far from clear” whether European countries “can remain reliable allies”, the Minister said: The document also states that Washington must restore strategic stability with Russia.
The Kremlin praised the new strategy on Sunday, he said this was largely in line with Russia’s “vision”.
While both the United States and Russia share a mutual desire for future rapprochement, there is still some distance when it comes to an immediate peace agreement on Ukraine.
Talks between Witkoff, Kushner and Russian officials in Moscow last week also ended without any progress; Russian vice president Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the discussions were “very useful, constructive and extremely informative” but that there was more work to be done.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev and foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov attend a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on December 2, 2025.
Alexander Kazakov | via Reuters
The Kremlin also commented on Trump’s criticism of Zelenskyy, Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“We don’t know exactly what kind of disagreements there are. What is important for us is that extensive work was done in Moscow during Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, and afterwards Witkoff and Kushner continued to work based on the results obtained in Moscow with a delegation of Ukrainian negotiators led by Umerov,” the comment translated by NBC News said.
“It is now important for us to understand what the outcome of this study is. It is now clear that both parties understand that such studies must be done quietly. This type of study cannot be carried out completely in public. This would be counterproductive. Most importantly, it would prevent results. Therefore, we are waiting to receive this information. When we do this, things will become clear,” he said.
