3 hours ago
Last Updated:October 20, 2025, 15:53 IST
Trump suggests ending Russia-Ukraine war by leaving most of Donbas under Moscow control, urging both sides to stop fighting, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected ceding territory.
US President Donald Trump (Image: AFP/File)
US President Donald Trump has suggested the best way to end the Russia-Ukraine war would be to “cut up" Donbas region in a way that would leave most part of it under Moscow control.
“Let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now and you can leave it the way it is right now," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“They can negotiate something later on down the line," he further said, adding that at the moment both sides of the conflict should “stop at the battle line – go home, stop fighting, stop killing people".
This came days after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
This remark contradicts Trump’s comments in September when he said that he thought Ukraine could take back all its territory and even “go further" into Russian lands. He also described Russia as a “paper tiger".
According to The Guardian, Zelenskyy had flown to Washington hoping to capitalise on Trump’s growing frustration with Vladimir Putin after the US president’s summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough in the war. However, the meeting failed as Zelenskyy failed to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which would have allowed Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with precision.
After meeting Zelenskyy at the White House, Trump said on social media the talks were “very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL".
On Sunday evening, while flying from Florida to Washington, Trump reiterated his stance that Ukraine would need to give up some of its territory to have the fighting “stop at the lines where they are".
The Guardian reported that when he was asked f he had told Zelenskyy that Ukraine must cede all of the Donbas region to Russia, Trump said “no".
As per reports, Putin has proposed that Ukraine surrender the remaining parts of Donbas still under its control, in exchange for limited territorial concessions in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The offer is seen as a softened version of the proposal Putin presented in their earlier Alaska meeting, which also ended acrimoniously.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy wrote on social media on Sunday: “Ukraine will never grant terrorists any bounty for their crimes, and we count on our partners to uphold this very position."
Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:
October 20, 2025, 15:42 IST
News world After Zelenskyy Meet, Trump Proposes Dividing Donbas to End Ukraine-Russia War
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