Another historic peace imminent? Ukraine signals support for altered version of Trump's peace plan



President Donald Trump has in recent months brokered peaceful resolutions between numerous warring parties, including Israel and Hamas; Azerbaijan and Armenia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Cambodia and Thailand; and India and Pakistan.

The major peace he campaigned on securing between Ukraine and Russia has, however, proven elusive.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government's representative to the U.N. appeared to reject the fundamentals of the Trump administration's 28-point plan for peace.

The plan would have: barred Ukraine from NATO, having an army exceeding 600,000 men, and acquiring nukes but provided Kyiv with a NATO-style security guarantee from the U.S.; recognized much of the occupied territory in eastern Ukraine as Russian; set the stage for an American-backed rebuilding of Ukraine; and granted full amnesty to all parties involved in the conflict.

'Don't believe it until you see it.'

While apparently averse to several of the 28 points, Kyiv has, however, since expressed support for an altered version of the peace plan, the details of which Trump and Zelenskyy — who has reportedly not authorized anyone but himself to discuss territorial matters — may soon iron out at the White House.

An official briefed on the negotiations told the Washington Post that Trump's peace plan had been reduced from 28 points to 19 points by Monday. A European official briefed on the talks suggested that some of the provisions concerning European security didn't make it to the new draft.

Ukrainian delegate Oleksandr Bevz noted, "Many of the controversial provisions were either softened or at least reshaped" to get Kyiv on board.

RELATED: Zelenskyy's hold on power uncertain as criminal charges reach his inner circle

Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After Ukraine's delegation returned from Geneva, where they met over the weekend to discuss the American peace proposal with representatives of the Trump administration, Zelenskyy said in a statement on Monday evening that "now the list of necessary steps to end the war can become doable. As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points — no longer 28 — and many of the right elements have been taken into account in this framework."

"Our team has reported on the new draft of steps, and this is indeed the right approach," continued Zelenskyy. "I will discuss the sensitive issues with President Trump."

Echoing Zelenskyy, Ukraine's national security secretary Rustem Umerov announced that the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations "reached a common understanding on the core terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva."

Amid U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll's meetings on Tuesday with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi, which a spokesman said were "going well," a U.S. official told CNN that "the Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal. There are some minor details to be sorted out, but they have agreed to a peace deal."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that "tremendous progress towards a peace deal" has been made, adding that "there are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio effectively said the same thing days earlier, adding, "I honestly believe we'll get there."

During a press conference with the Belarusian foreign minister on Tuesday, Russian foreign affairs minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Moscow "welcomed" the 28-point plan but will consider the "interim" plan produced by Washington, Kyiv, and the Europeans in the coming days.

Lavrov noted, however, that Russia expects the peace plan to adhere to the terms President Vladimir Putin discussed with Trump during their August summit in Anchorage.

"We are not hurrying. We're not pushing our American counterparts. We have waited a long time since Anchorage," said Lavrov. "We are only reminding them that we stick to those agreements."

Lavrov added, "If the spirit and letter of Anchorage is erased in terms of the key understandings we have established then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation."

Trump noted in a Truth Social post on Monday, "Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine??? Don't believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

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'Very difficult choice': Zelenskyy rejects fundamentals of Trump's peace plan



Despite numerous setbacks, President Donald Trump remains committed to ending the war between Russia and Ukraine — a war that has resulted in over a million casualties and turned much of Eastern Ukraine into drone-netted wasteland.

To this end, his administration has drafted a 28-point peace plan that would give both warring parties something they want: for Russia, concessions to much of the land it presently occupies in Eastern Ukraine; and for Ukraine, a NATO-style security guarantee from the United States.

'We're back to square one.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially expressed a willingness to work with the administration on the plan, which was presented to him in writing on Thursday by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, but he has since joined others in casting doubt on its workability.

The plan

Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted on Wednesday evening, "Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions."

"That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict," Rubio added.

RELATED: Zelenskyy's hold on power uncertain as criminal charges reach his inner circle

Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The following day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff "have been working on a plan quietly for about the last month."

"They have been engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace," Leavitt continued. "That's how you get to a peace negotiation."

The plan's 28 points as of Thursday are as follows, according to Axios and Agence France-Presse:

  1. Ukraine's sovereignty will be affirmed.
  2. A comprehensive non-aggression agreement between Russia, Ukraine, and Europe will be established, thereby settling all ambiguities of the last 30 years.
  3. The expectations that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and that NATO will not continue its expansion will be codified.
  4. A U.S.-mediated dialogue will be scheduled between Russia and NATO in order "to resolve all security issues and create conditions for de-escalation in order to ensure global security and increase opportunities for cooperation and future economic development."
  5. Ukraine will receive an explicit security guarantee — apparently from the United States.
  6. Ukraine's military will be limited to 600,000 personnel.
  7. Ukraine will codify in its constitution a prohibition on its joining NATO, and NATO will agree to statutorily forbid Ukraine's admission in the future.
  8. NATO will agree not to station troops in Ukraine.
  9. European fighter jets will be stationed in neighboring Poland.
  10. The U.S. will receive compensation for its guarantee; invalidate the guarantee if Ukraine invades Russia or fires a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg without cause; and revoke recognition of the new territory and respond both militarily as well as with global sanctions if Russia invades.
  11. Ukraine will be eligible for membership to the European Union and enjoy special access to the European market in the meantime.
  12. The U.S. and other parties will help rebuild Ukraine.
  13. Russia will be reintegrated in the the global economy.
  14. Frozen Russian assets will be poured into American-led efforts to rebuild Ukraine — a venture from which the U.S. will receive 50% of profits.
  15. A U.S.-Russian working group on security issues will be established to ensure compliance with all provisions of the agreement.
  16. Russia will codify a policy of non-aggression toward Europe and Ukraine.
  17. The U.S. and Russia will "agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty."
  18. Ukraine will agree not to acquire or develop nuclear bombs.
  19. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be launched under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and distribute electricity equally between Russia and Ukraine.
  20. In addition to both nations implementing educational anti-discrimination programs and guaranteeing the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education, Ukraine will deal with its Nazi infestation and adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.
  21. The U.S. will recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as de facto Russian; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be divided along the current line of contact; Russia will cede other territories under its control outside the five regions; and Ukrainian forces with abandon the part of Donetsk Oblast currently under their control, which will become a neutral demilitarized buffer zone.
  22. Once the territorial arrangements are settled, neither Russia nor Ukraine will attempt to change them by force.
  23. Russia will not prevent Ukraine from using the Dnieper River for commercial activities, and agreement will be made on the free transport of grain across the Black Sea.
  24. A humanitarian committee will be established to deal with prisoner exchanges as well as the return of remains, hostages, and civilian detainees. A family reunification program will also be implemented.
  25. Ukraine will hold elections in 100 days.
  26. All parties involved in the conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war and agree not to consider any complaints in the future.
  27. The agreement will be legally binding, and sanctions will be imposed for violations.
  28. The ceasefire will take effect immediately after both sides retreat to agreed points and begin implementing the terms of the agreement.

Flies in the ointment

European diplomats and other establishmentarians immediately began clutching pearls over the plan, apparently convinced that there is yet a better way to resolve or win what is effectively an 11-year-old war.

"We're back to square one," one senior European official told the Financial Times.

Another European diplomat working on a response to Trump's plan said, "It basically means capitulation [to Moscow]."

"For any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board," said European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. "We haven't heard of any concessions on the Russian side."

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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, "Peace cannot be a capitulation."

'Our red lines are clear and unwavering.'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, for instance, suggested that the plan was a "surrender agreement," adding that "Ukrainian courage and patriotism should not be betrayed by Americans growing tired of stopping evil."

Douglas Murray, a gay neoconservative who complained last year that the West was "drunk on peace," wrote in his New York Post column, "Perhaps this is just an opening gambit, but it must be clear to any observer that these are not terms that any Ukrainian government could agree to."

The Institute for the Study of War said that "the stipulations of the reported 28-point Russia-U.S. peace plan amount to Ukraine's full capitulation to Russia's original war demands."

Zelenskyy, whose presidential term officially ended 18 months ago, initially broke from the naysayers, tweeting on Thursday, "Our teams — of Ukraine and the United States — will work on the provisions of the plan to end the war. We are ready for constructive, honest and swift work."

However, in a 10-minute address on Friday to his beleaguered nation, Zelenskyy framed the choice of accepting the peace plan in dire terms.

"Now the pressure on Ukraine is one of the most difficult. Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner," Zelenskyy said. "Either [Trump's] 28 points or an extremely difficult winter, the most difficult and further risks — life without freedom, without dignity, without justice."

The previous day, Zelenskyy stated, "It is important that the outcome be a dignified peace."

Kristina Gayovishin, Ukraine's deputy permanent representative to the U.N., effectively told the globalist body's security council that concessions to Moscow and military reductions were off the table.

"While Ukraine stands ready to engage in meaningful negotiations to end this war, our red lines are clear and unwavering," Gayovishin said. "There will never be any recognition, formal or otherwise, of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as Russian. Our land is not for sale."

"We will not accept any limits on our right to self-defense or on the size and capabilities of our armed force," the Ukrainian diplomat continued. "Nor will we tolerate any infringement on our sovereignty, including our sovereign right to choose the alliances we want to join."

Gayovishin added, "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. And nothing about Europe without Europe."

American officials have emphasized that the 28-point peace plan is a working document and therefore prone to change.

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Zelenskyy's hold on power uncertain as criminal charges reach his inner circle



Volodymyr Zelenskyy — the Ukrainian leader who suspended elections, dissolved rival parties, sanctioned a political opponent on suspicion of "high treason," consolidated Ukraine's media outlets, banned a Christian denomination, and remains president despite his term officially ending 18 months ago — rose to power on a pledge to give Ukrainians "a life without corruption, without bribes."

Zelenskyy's hold on power, however, now appears uncertain, as it is threatened by a historic corruption scandal that has swept up some of his closest allies.

Zelenskyy, allies prove unable to hinder probe

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian president and his closest aides attempted to neutralize the independent anti-corruption agencies that were scrutinizing Zelenskyy's inner circle.

In July, Zelenskyy's party pushed through legislation stripping Ukraine's National Anticorruption Bureau of its independence and giving the prosecutor general, a Zelenskyy appointee, oversight. This took place the day after the State Bureau of Investigation — which is helmed by a Zelenskyy loyalist — arrested NABU officials and conducted numerous raids of corruption fighters' homes.

'Zelensky faces a day of reckoning.'

The director of the anti-corruption bureau, Semen Kryvonos, indicated at the time that "this pressure campaign is a direct response to the effectiveness of our investigations, including those targeting high-ranking officials and members of Parliament."

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Photo by TETIANA DZHAFAROVA/AFP via Getty Images

The Financial Times indicated that in the face of mass protests and outrage from Ukraine's Western partners, Zelenskyy and his allies ultimately had to abandon their efforts to torpedo the 15-month investigation.

Zelenskyy desperately condemns his close allies

Despite the obstacles erected by the regime, the anti-corruption investigation conducted by NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office exposed an alleged $100 million kickback scheme in which Zelenskyy officials and business figures allegedly conspired to force suppliers to Ukraine's nuclear power company, Energoatom, to pay kickbacks valued at 10%-15% of each contract's value.

In their searches of suspects' residences, law enforcement reportedly found duffel bags filled with cash and, in one case, a Kyiv apartment with a golden toilet.

Kryvonos indicated the funds allegedly pilfered as part of the scheme have largely been dispersed through a number of foreign nations and used to purchase property and other assets, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The Ukrainian president — who was "floored" by the scale of the charges made against members of his ruling clique, sources in the government told the Economist — has done his apparent best to distance himself from those named in the criminal corruption probe, which has been dubbed Operation Midas.

For instance, Zelenskyy, who was not named in the corruption probe, imposed sanctions last week on one of his closest associates and former business partner, Timur Mindich.

Mindich, who fled to Israel just prior to NABU's Nov. 10 raids, has been charged with allegedly managing a criminal organization that laundered millions of dollars.

Mindich is reportedly a close business associate of Israeli-Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky, a backer of Zelenskyy's presidential campaign who was arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine in 2023 on fraud and money-laundering charges, and a relative of Leonid Mindich, who was arrested by Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities earlier this year on charges of embezzling $16 million from an electric power company.

Zelenskyy also asked his ministers of justice and energy — German Halushchenko and Svitlana Grynchuk — to resign last week, stating, "This is also a matter of trust. If there are accusations, they must be addressed. The decision to dismiss them from office is prompt and necessary."

Grynchuk said in a Facebook post, "There have been no violations of the law in the course of my personal activities."

Halushchenko, who served as energy minister until his dismissal in July and was removed as justice minister on Nov. 12, has indicated that he will defend himself against the accusations.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Timur Mindich allegedly built connections with Halushchenko through his relationship with Zelenskyy and then exerted influence over both the ex-justice minister and Rustem Umerov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council and ex-defense minister.

Although Umerov is presently in the U.S., Ukraine's Center for Counter Disinformation indicated he is planning to return to Ukraine despite reports that he was hoping to stay abroad to avoid charges.

Other suspects tied to the alleged kickback scheme reportedly include:

  • Ihor Myroniuk, an ex-adviser to Halushchenko and former deputy head of the State Property Fund whose lawyer claims he was not a member of a criminal organization;
  • former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, a close Zelenskyy ally who was removed from his position in July after being charged with bribery and abuse of office, then arrested on Tuesday on charges of illicit enrichment in connection with the alleged kickback scheme;
  • Serhiy Pushkar, a current member of the National Energy Commission;
  • Oleksandr Tsukerman, a Ukrainian businessman accused of running the money laundering back office in the scheme, who reportedly left Ukraine for Israel and denies wrongdoing; and
  • Dmytro Basov, former head of the Energoatom security department, who also denied any wrongdoing.

Daria Kaleniuk, executive director at the Anti-Corruption Action Center in Kyiv, told France 24 on Monday that the investigation is far from over and that Zelenskyy has to look very closely into his closest inner circle, starting with his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who Kaleniuk claimed is wielding unconstitutional powers in the country and is at the heart of the problem.

"If there will be more attempts from Zelenskyy to attack anti-corruption bodies like there was attempt[ed] in summer, there would be also for me the clear signal that Volodomyr Zelenskyy didn't learn his lesson," added Kaleniuk.

Sources close to the anti-corruption bodies made clear to the Economist that the investigation's next phase may focus on corruption in the defense sector, which may prompt greater demands for a full reset of the Ukrainian government.

"Zelenskyy faces a day of reckoning," a senior official told the Economist. "The choice isn’t great. Either he amputates a leg, or he gets an infection going through the whole body and dies."

"I think that right now, both society and the political class understand that a political crisis would be too dangerous," Volodymyr Fesenko, a political scientist based in Kyiv, told the Financial Times. "A lot depends on the next steps of the investigation, if new information comes out that involves Zelenskyy or the office of the president ... then of course, it'll be a new round."

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Media, Zelenskyy beg Trump to give Ukraine Tomahawks — NATO chief says president was 'completely right' to decline



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House on Friday, hoping that he would talk President Donald Trump into giving Kiev some long-range Tomahawk missiles.

The meeting, while allegedly "cordial," did not go as Zelenskyy had hoped.

Trump, who figures both that America should retain the weapon systems for its own defense and that the provision to Ukraine would not only amount to an intolerable escalation but prove useless in the short term, declined to supply Kiev with Tomahawks.

'It will be too far out into the future.'

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, among the European officials apparently prickled by the decision, implored Trump to hand over the missiles, stating, "Putin believes only in power."

Elements of the liberal media similarly called on Trump to oblige Zelenskyy.

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board, for instance, characterized the cruise missiles as a "force for peace," suggested that "hoarding cruise missiles for another war that may or may not come invites more conflict," and downplayed the use of the missiles against a nuclear power as escalatory.

The Telegraph suggested that Trump should abandon his role as the "mediator president" and gift Russian President Vladimir Putin "a Christmas punctuated by Tomahawk, Storm Shadow, and Atacms strikes."

Amid such blather, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte emphasized on Wednesday that the American president was "completely right."

Following his meeting on Wednesday with Trump, Rutte told CNN, "Let's never think that one specific weapon system will change the whole war. If it was that easy, then we would have ended it when the Germans sent Leopards II, when the Dutch and the Danes sent the F-16s."

"These systems are important," continued Rutte. "They will absolutely help to bring this war to an end, but in itself, one weapon system will never end it."

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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Zelenskyy, whose term ended in May 2024, seeks to use such missiles — which cost over $2 million a piece and can be fired from a ground-based Typhon launcher that costs around $6.2 million — in concert with long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, including military bases, factories, oil infrastructure, and command centers. Whereas the British-made Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine's arsenal have a range of 150 miles, Tomahawk missiles have a range of over 1,000 miles.

Rutte referenced the explanation Trump gave during their meeting and said, "He was completely right here: It takes months for anyone other than American soldiers to be trained on [Tomahawk weapon systems]. So it is not that if you decide today that Ukrainians can use them tomorrow."

Trump noted earlier that "there is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk."

"It's a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon, and maybe that's what makes it so complex," continued the president. "But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we're not going to be teaching other people. It will be too far out into the future."

Trump, keen on brokering an end to war well in advance of that time Tomahawk missiles might have capable pilots on the ground, has instead turned to a more immediate method of applying pressure on Russia to end the war, namely sanctions on Russia, its enablers, and — as of Wednesday — two of Russia's largest state-owned oil companies.

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Trump gives Zelenskyy reality check in alleged 'shouting match' before sending him on his way



President Donald Trump has worked ardently to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine — a war that has resulted in millions of casualties and transformed much of Eastern Ukraine into drone-netted wasteland.

Fresh off brokering a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza and speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday.

'They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!'

While Trump suggested on social media that the meeting was "cordial," there are reports indicating that it descended at times into a "shouting match" reminiscent of Zelenskyy's disastrous visit to the White House in February.

Zelenskyy evidently saw his trip to the White House as an opportunity to ask Trump for long-range Tomahawk missiles. The Ukrainian president seeks to use such missiles in concert with long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia, including military bases, factories, oil infrastructure, and command centers — as well as Moscow — in hopes of turning the tide in the war and improving Kiev's position in future negotiations.

In exchange for the Tomahawk cruise missiles, Zelenskyy — who spoke earlier in the day with representatives of Raytheon, the manufacturer of Tomahawk missiles — indicated that Kiev could provide the U.S. with some advanced drones.

Trump, who allegedly cursed repeatedly during the meeting, poured cold water on the idea. Rather than hand over weapons that he believes America should retain for its own defense and, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, would amount to an escalation, Trump once again impressed on Zelenskyy the need to negotiate an immediate end to the war.

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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump echoed this suggestion Friday evening on Truth Social, writing, "I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts."

"They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!" continued Trump. "No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent."

The Financial Times, citing a European official briefed on the meeting, reported that Trump told Zelenskyy that it was imperative that he make a deal to end the war, allegedly noting that "if [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you."

There are, however, conflicting reports about the contentiousness of Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy.

One EU diplomat told Politico, for instance, that the meeting was "not as bleak as reported."

A pair of Republican foreign policy experts with direct knowledge of the meeting suggested Trump had not engaged in any cursing.

One GOP foreign policy expert characterized the meeting as "a dud for the Ukrainians rather than a disaster." The other suggested that "it wasn’t a bad meeting, just a victim of poor timing and inflated expectations."

Blaze News has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

The European official further told the Times that at one point during the meeting, Trump brushed aside one of Ukraine's maps of the battlefield, saying the sight of it made him "sick."

"This red line, I don't even know where this is," Trump allegedly said.

Russia presently occupies around 20% of the entire country and most of the Donbas — including all of the Luhansk region, most of the largely Russian-speaking Donetsk region, much of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and parts of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

While Moscow has made gradual territorial gains over the past year, recent analysis by the Institute for the Study of War suggests that Russian forces are several years away from capturing the remainder of the Donetsk region, which "contains territory that is strategically vital for Ukraine’s defense and defense industrial base."

Two senior officials familiar with Trump's conversation last week with Putin told the Washington Post that the Russian president has conditioned ending the war on Ukraine's surrender of Donetsk — a proposal Zelenskyy apparently remains unwilling to accept.

Zelenskyy — whose term officially ended in May 2024 — told reporters after his meeting with the American president that Putin had asked Trump to "withdraw from the Donbas — not the entire east, but specifically the Donbas, that is, completely from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions."

The Ukrainian president suggested further that he "made it clear" to Trump "that Ukraine's stance in this context remains unchanged."

"Trump wants a quick victory — an end to the war — and that would be a victory for all reasonable people," Zelenskyy later told reporters. "Putin, however, wants the total occupation of Ukraine."

Zelenskyy said in an address on Saturday, "We will give nothing to the aggressor."

'Zelenskyy was very negative.'

President Trump said in an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that aired on Sunday, "[Putin is] going to take something. I mean, they fought, and he has a lot of property. I mean, you know, he's won certain property."

Trump told reporters on Sunday, "We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are — the battle lines."

As for the Donbas region, Trump said, "I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia. You leave it the way it is right now."

Although Zelenskyy suggested the needle had been moved where ending the war was concerned, another European official briefed on the Friday meeting told the Financial Times that "Zelenskyy was very negative" after the American president sent him on his way.

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Trump defends Zelenskyy against Russian official: 'It's all bulls**t'



President Donald Trump dismissed the claim of a Russian official as the commander in chief continues to negotiate peace talks with Ukraine.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's minister of foreign affairs, recently said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not sign a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy because he is viewed as an "illegitimate" leader. Trump shot down Lavrov's comments during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, saying, "Everybody is posturing."

'The issue of who is going to sign the deal on Ukrainian side is a very serious issue.'

"It doesn't matter what they say," Trump told reporters. "Everybody is posturing. It's all bullsh**t."

Trump also offered United States Special Envoy Steve Witkoff the opportunity to chime in, to which he simply said, "I agree with you, sir." The room filled with reporters and government officials promptly erupted with laughter.

Notably, Zelenskyy's five-year presidential term was set to end in May 2024, but no elections have been called due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.

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Reporter: "This weekend Sergey Lavrov was saying Putin will not sign a peace deal with Zelenskyy because Russia views him as illegitimate..."

President Trump: "It doesn't matter what they say. Everybody is posturing. It's all bullshit." pic.twitter.com/8H8AeKNqAC
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) August 26, 2025

Although the Trump administration has held separate summits with both Zelenskyy and Putin in recent weeks, Lavrov said there is "no planned meeting" between the two leaders.

In addition to challenging Zelenskyy's leadership, Lavrov reiterated the slew of preconditions Russia is demanding from Ukraine. Some of these preconditions include Ukraine agreeing not to join NATO, "the discussion of territorial issues," and for Zelenskyy to cancel any legislation "prohibiting the Russian language."

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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

"Irrespective of when this meeting might take place, and that must be very well prepared, the issue of who is going to sign the deal on Ukrainian side is a very serious issue," Lavrov said over the weekend.

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White Stripes singer writes unhinged essay about Trump being a 'fascist' who faked getting shot



Singer Jack White from the White Stripes is not short on ideas when it comes to the White House or the Trump administration.

Last week, White posted a picture of President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and labeled the White House decor as "vulgar, gold leafed, and gaudy."

The scathing review of the president's interior design skills were coupled with typical commentary about Trump possessing the nuclear codes and being an "embarrassment to American history."

But White did have something good to say before he was finished.

'A washed up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media.'

The 50-year-old praised Zelenskyy in that same post, calling him "a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit."

Following White's remarks, White House communications director Steven Cheung insulted the musician. He called White "a washed up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career."

Cheung defended the White House decor in his comments to the Daily Beast, adding that White "fails to appreciate" the magnificence of the Oval Office.

White did not take the insults lightly and offloaded what seemed to be a decade's worth of gripes with President Trump that ranged from claims about January 6, 2021, to Trump's assassination attempt in 2024.

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Jack White at Bernie Sanders campaign rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, on October 27, 2019. Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

While White claimed he was shocked at the White House's response — despite him calling Trump an embarrassment and a "con-man" — he listed an array of claims in an Instagram post about the president, comparing him to the Nazis several times.

White said Trump has manipulated the government like a "fascist," that ICE uses "gestapo" tactics, and that the president has made racist remarks about Latinos, Native Americans, and even has made "attacks on the disabled."

More comments about "nazi like rallies" were coupled with the claim that Trump had faked getting shot in the ear, which White said was evidenced by the president not showing "medical records or photographs" of the shooting.

White also accused Cheung and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt of "covering up" fascism as patriotism.

The singer seemingly has an issue with everything the president does, claiming Trump has not improved America at all and that any changes Trump has made are only "smoke and mirrors" to benefit the "ultra wealthy."

Still, White defended himself in the post as "not a Democrat" and labeled Trump voters as victims "of the 2 party system."

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Perhaps White was a victim of the same system when he performed at a Bernie Sanders rally when the senator ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, the second time he had done so.

White's post touched on every possible angle of Trump criticism, leaving no space for grace for the twice-elected president. The musician's Trump-related insults run the gamut, with White even calling Trump's agenda "white supremacist."

Also, like many anti-Trump activists, White even decided he was the arbiter of Christianity when he said Trump has been "masquerading as a Christian," claiming Trump's voters support him because "he hates who [they] hate."

"How christian of you all," White concluded.

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Trump tells Mark Levin what guides him in peace talks, emphasizes need to stop the Russia-Ukraine massacre



President Donald Trump revealed in a Tuesday interview with Blaze Media co-founder Mark Levin what guides him through his diplomatic endeavors as well as what's next for Ukraine, Russia, and America where brokering a lasting peace is concerned.

"You've got a lot of balls in the air with this," said Levin.

"You've got NATO. You got these NATO countries. You've got our national security interests. You've got Russia and Ukraine, their interests, and so forth and so on."

Levin asked, "Is there process here, or do you just kind of go with the flow?"

'Don't forget: That's not easy to overcome when he sees these wack jobs.'

Trump — who alluded in the interview to the conflicts he recently resolved between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia and Thailand, and India and Pakistan, as well as his decisive strikes on Iran and the progress made already regarding the war in Ukraine — indicated that "it's probably instinct more than process."

"I have instincts, and I've lived with my instinct about things. Even running for president, I had an instinct I'd win the first time, and I did even better the second time — as you know, I did much better ... but bad things happened," said Trump.

The president suggested that now his second term "is far more powerful."

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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

While his instinct has helped bring relative peace to numerous nations around the world, Trump admitted to Levin that based on his previous relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he initially expected that things would have gone more smoothly with the Ukraine peace talks.

"I actually had a good relationship with President Putin [in] the first term despite the fact that we had 'Russia, Russia, Russia,'" said Trump. "Don't forget: That's not easy to overcome when he sees these wack jobs — and he knew it was false because he wasn't involved. Not to say he's an angel, by the way, but he knew it was all a made-up thing, and, you know, he probably thought we were totally crazy, this country."

Trump indicated that while the Russia-Ukraine war has proven more difficult to resolve than other conflicts — certainly more difficult that he first imagined — he had "very successful" meetings with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, "and now we'll see how they do."

In the event that Putin and Zelenskyy can't seal the deal, Trump indicated, "I'll probably be able to get it closed. I just want to see what happens at the meeting."

'You're not going to have to worry about that.'

Regardless of the outcome, Trump made clear that the American taxpayer will no longer be on the hook for prolonging the Slavic bloodshed.

Trump bemoaned the hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars that have been spent on the war, stressing, "We're not going to do that."

Between the rare-earth deal he brokered with Ukraine and his deal with NATO for the military alliance to buy American missiles and weapons, Trump indicated that "we're not spending any money" despite pressure from Zelenskyy, whom he likened to P.T. Barnum, the hoax-pushing showman who co-founded the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

"The whole thing is ridiculous," said Trump. "But more importantly, the death being caused over there is incredible. So we're going to try and stop it, and I think we have a good shot."

At the very least, Trump reassured Levin that whereas the conflict in Ukraine was dragging the world toward nuclear war when former President Joe Biden was in office, "you're not going to have that any more. That's the nice part. You're not going to have to worry about that."

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Glenn Beck unpacks 3 HUGE wins from Trump’s Zelenskyy meeting



On August 18, just three days after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House to continue the discussion of ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been raging for nearly three and a half years now.

Though no agreements are finalized, the world holds greater hope than ever before that the brutal Russia-Ukraine war, with its toll of hundreds of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions in costs, is nearing its end, guided by the brilliant conductor of these intricate negotiations: President Donald Trump.

On a recent episode of “The Glenn Beck Program,” Glenn unpacked the meeting and identified the three biggest Trump wins.

1. Re-establishing America as the global leader

Glenn continues to be amazed by Trump’s unique ability to project American power without relying on military force or being a mere participant in a global coalition. Instead, he is leading the coalition, setting the agenda, and compelling world leaders to follow his direction.

“When [Trump] won the second term, he made it very clear he was going to send a message to the world that he's changing things. … He is doing that while we have had every other president since maybe Reagan start bowing a knee to the global world order,” says Glenn.

“The world has been marching to that drum that America’s time has passed. We're not in the driver's seat any more. We need to have deference to everybody else [and] stop leading the world.”

Trump, he explains, has simultaneously reclaimed the driver’s seat, re-establishing America as “the leader of the world,” and yet managed to avoid “being the policemen of the world” — something Americans “have always wanted.”

This new new world order, with America back at the helm, was evident in Monday’s meeting, Glenn says, comparing the event to a school staff meeting where Trump is the principal and the world leaders are his students.

“He is calling all of the kids in or the teachers in because it's time we have a little conference here, and I need to tell you what's going on in your own classrooms. That's what it felt like yesterday. That is the projection of global leadership,” Glenn says.

2. Breaking the stalemate in Ukraine-Russia negotiations

In a matter of just days, President Trump has succeeded in reigniting dialogue and making headway where there’s been virtually none in over three years.

Even the biggest world leaders have acknowledged this — Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer have all condoned President Trump’s role in advancing diplomacy.

It’s clear that he’s mastered “the art of the deal,” says Glenn, adding that his genius lies in his ability to make others — even Putin — “want to be in his circle.”

He sees Trump’s direct engagement with Putin, including the mid-meeting phone call to update him, as a pivotal move that pressured him to take negotiations seriously. This diplomatic breakthrough, including discussions of an Article 5-like security agreement, is a significant win, even if the final outcome remains uncertain.

3. Leading without bureaucratic constraints

Another major win from the meeting, says Glenn, is that it revealed that Trump relies on his own judgment, sidestepping State Department advisers who have pushed ineffective policies for decades.

He contrasts Trump’s approach with previous presidents — especially post-Reagan ones — who were overly influenced by entrenched advisers.

“He's leading the State Department. He's leading the world. He's keeping his own counsel. That hasn't been done by a president in I don't know how long,” Glenn says, “and it's why we're once again the leaders of the world because these these advisers — all of these doctors and professors and people who have been in the State Department their whole life and know better than everybody — Donald Trump has said to them, ‘Shut up. I've seen your record. It doesn't work.”’

For the first time in decades, “the president of the United States is in charge of his administration.”

To hear more of Glenn’s commentary and analysis, watch the episode above.

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Karoline Leavitt brutally torches New York Times reporter: 'With all due respect'



White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has once again stopped the fake news media in their tracks.

During Tuesday's press briefing, Leavitt defended President Donald Trump's ongoing peace talks to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict after a New York Times reporter pressed her on the issue. A reporter named Shawn McCreesh asked Leavitt about a comment Trump made during Monday's monumental summit, when he decided to take Russian President Vladimir Putin's call privately out of respect.

'The left-wing media has been actively rooting against the president.'

"If the point is to get everybody on the same page, why wouldn't Trump just take the call from Putin while the other leaders were in the room?" McCreesh asked Leavitt. "You said it would be disrespectful to do that, but why is it disrespectful?"

"With all due respect, only a reporter from the New York Times would ask a question like that," Leavitt replied.

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"The president met with all of these European leaders at the White House 48 hours after sitting down with President Putin on American soil," Leavitt said.

"In fact, there was so much progress, and the readout that was given to these European leaders immediately following his meeting with President Putin, that every single one of them got on a plane 48 hours later and flew to the United States of America," Leavitt added.

Leavitt also set her sights on the "left-wing" media more broadly, accusing various outlets of "actively rooting against" Trump's ongoing attempts to broker peace in the region.

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Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

"One thing that has absolutely not changed is the media's negative and downright false coverage of President Trump and his foreign policy accomplishments," Leavitt said.

"From the beginning of this entire process, much of the left-wing media has been actively rooting against the president of the United States in the pursuit of peace."

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