(COMBO) This operation of pictures created connected February 25, 2025 shows US President Donald Trump (L) connected February 22, 2025, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky connected February 12, 2025.. Ukraine has agreed connected the presumption of a minerals woody with the United States and could motion it February 28, 2025, the 2 countries said, a determination Kyiv hopes volition pb to aboriginal information guarantees from Washington.
Alex Wroblewskitetiana Dzhafarova | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday the onus to extremity the warfare betwixt Moscow and Kyiv is connected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In a station connected Truth Social, Trump said that Zelenskyy could "end the warfare with Russia astir immediately, if helium wants to, oregon helium tin proceed to fight."
"Remember however it started. No getting backmost Obama fixed Crimea (12 years ago, without a changeable being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE," Trump added successful the post, mirroring demands by the Kremlin for designation of its annexation of Crimea and for Ukraine to beryllium excluded from the NATO alliance.
Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula successful 2014 and backed separatists successful eastbound Ukraine, a determination that was wide condemned by the planetary community. Moscow past launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.
Trump's comments travel up of an Aug. 18 gathering successful Washington with Zelenskyy and a fig of European leaders.
The gathering follows Trump's Aug. 15 talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin successful Alaska, which lasted 3 hours but did not output a ceasefire agreement, though some sides described the talks arsenic "productive."
Trump reportedly told Zelenskyy aft the gathering with Putin that Moscow had offered to frost astir of the beforehand lines successful Ukraine successful speech for Kyiv withdrawing from the eastbound regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Zelenskyy had rejected the connection up of the summit, saying this would deprive Ukraine of cardinal antiaircraft positions and let Moscow to motorboat further offensives into Ukraine. Kyiv presently holds astir 1 4th of Donetsk, including its so-called "fortress belt" of cities.
In a Fox News interrogation aft the gathering with Putin, Trump urged Zelenskyy to onslaught a woody to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine. "Look, Russia is simply a precise large power, and [Ukraine is] not. They're large soldiers," helium said.
In 2024, then-U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said to the United Nations: "If Russia stops fighting, the warfare ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends."
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