Trump Tells Zelenskiy: ‘Russia Is a Big Power’ and Urges Peace Deal with Putin, Skips Ceasefire Call

Washington/Moscow:  In a striking shift from previous U.S. policy, President Donald Trump has pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to strike a direct peace deal with Russia, telling him bluntly: “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.”

The remarks came after Trump’s high-profile Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin — the first U.S.-Russia leader meeting since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to sources cited by Reuters, Putin offered to freeze most front lines in exchange for Ukraine ceding all of Donetsk, a key industrial stronghold. Zelenskiy reportedly rejected the proposal outright.

Russia already controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine, including nearly three-quarters of Donetsk, seized in stages since 2014. Until now, Washington had backed Kyiv’s demand for a ceasefire before peace talks; Trump has now aligned with Moscow’s stance that negotiations should bypass a truce and aim straight for a comprehensive settlement.

The Kremlin hailed the shift, with Putin saying the talks “opened the way to peace in Ukraine,” though he admitted positions remain “diametrically opposed.” For Putin, the Alaska meeting was also a symbolic win, ending years of isolation from Western leaders.

Trump confirmed he will meet Zelenskiy in Washington on Monday, hinting at another round with Putin if “all works out.” Zelenskiy, however, remains firm: Ukraine’s constitution forbids ceding territory, and he insists on binding international security guarantees to prevent future aggression.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called these guarantees the summit’s most significant takeaway, likening them to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause. While Putin has long opposed foreign troop presence, he agreed with Trump that Ukraine’s security “must be ensured.”

With war still raging and both sides deeply entrenched, Trump’s push for a “deal over ceasefire” has injected new urgency — and controversy — into the quest for an endgame in Europe’s deadliest conflict in decades.