President Donald J. Trump reportedly sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday after Zelensky dismissed a proposed land swap with Russia as a pathway to ending the ongoing war, underscoring a widening rift between the two leaders over how to achieve peace.
Speaking from the White House Briefing Room, Mr. Trump said he “very, very severely” disagreed with Mr. Zelensky’s stance and was “a little bothered” by the Ukrainian leader’s insistence on seeking constitutional approval before considering territorial concessions.
“I get along with Zelensky, but, you know, I disagree with what he’s done, very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened,” Mr. Trump told reporters. He added, “I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap, because there’ll be some land swapping going on … for the good of Ukraine.”
Mr. Trump’s remarks came days after he outlined his peace proposal, which includes returning some territory to Ukraine while agreeing to “swapping” certain areas under Russian occupation.
The president stressed that Russia has “occupied some very prime territory” and that his plan sought to “get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
On Saturday, Mr. Zelensky signaled firm resistance, declaring, “Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” He dismissed any settlement imposed without Ukraine’s consent as “dead decisions” that “will never work.”
The dispute arises ahead of a planned meeting between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Alaska at the end of the week.
Mr. Putin reportedly told Trump envoy Steve Witkoff last week that Moscow would agree to end hostilities in exchange for control over the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas, which has seen heavy fighting and remains partially occupied by Russian forces.
“Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky wants to see peace,” Mr. Trump said last Friday. He indicated that “some swapping” of territories would be necessary, calling the matter “very complicated” but insisting the outcome would be “to the betterment of both.”
Mr. Zelensky has not been invited to the Alaska meeting, though Mr. Trump has said one of his conditions for engaging with Mr. Putin is securing the Russian leader’s agreement to hold direct talks with the Ukrainian president.
Despite his occasional public criticisms of both leaders — particularly Mr. Putin’s ongoing strikes on Ukrainian cities — Mr. Trump has positioned himself as a potential mediator capable of brokering a settlement. “We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said Monday. “Ultimately, I’m going to put the two of them in a room. I’ll be there, or I won’t be there, and I think it’ll get solved.”
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