Trump calls on Russia and Ukraine to freeze war at current battle lines

Russian and Ukrainian president Donald Trump has proposed that Moscow retain significant portions of Ukrainian territory in exchange for a freeze in the conflict along current battle lines.

Late on Sunday, Trump told reporters that the two parties should simply stop fighting and resolve “details” in upcoming discussions. The Donbass region, a hub for industrial activity, is where the current front line is.

The US president said, “They should stop right now at the battle lines, go home, stop killing people, and be done,” adding that negotiations over a final resolution would be difficult to reach.

When asked what would happen to Donbas, which has seen the most fighting, Trump responded, “Let it be cut the way it is. It is currently being cut up; in my opinion, Russia has already seized 78 percent of the land. You leave it as is at this moment. Later on, they can bargain something.”

Ukraine has previously urged that all of its land be reclaimed. Trump himself claimed last month that Ukraine has the ability to win militarily and retake all of Russia’s territories, including the Crimean Peninsula and other areas of eastern Ukraine.

In Hungary in the upcoming weeks, the US president will meet with Vladimir Putin, the country’s president, who had promised to put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump said last week at the White House that “if flexibility is shown, there is a chance to resolve the conflict quickly” when he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy urged Trump to put more pressure on Putin on Sunday, referring to Hamas as the Palestinian leader.

Zelenskyy told NBC News that Putin is “somewhat more powerful than Hamas.”

The Ukrainian president made the suggestion last week that the Trump-brokered ceasefire in Gaza provided “momentum” to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also reiterated his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles from the US to Ukraine. Zelenskyy conceded that Trump did not agree with the request, but he also did not reject it.

Trump made the recent suggestion that the US should maintain its Tomahawk stockpiles in order to protect its own national security interests.

The US provided unwavering support to Ukraine under former president Joe Biden, providing tens of billions of dollars in military, budget, and humanitarian aid.

Trump has, however, encouraged European nations to arm Kyiv by purchasing US weapons while cutting back on Ukrainian assistance.

In February 2022, Russia declared that NATO was expanding into former Soviet republics and that it had invaded Ukraine completely.