Trump tells Zelensky to "make the deal" as Rubio warns Ukraine’s war is only getting worse
By isabelle // 2025-08-19
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  • The U.S. is pushing Ukraine toward painful concessions as Secretary of State Marco Rubio warns the war will only worsen after three and a half years of brutal fighting.
  • President Trump and Putin’s rare Alaska summit signaled neither side will achieve total victory, with Trump urging Ukraine to cede territory or risk losing even more land.
  • Russia’s wartime economy and relentless manpower advantage have turned the conflict into an unsustainable "meat grinder" for Ukraine, while U.S. funding faces growing public backlash.
  • Putin demands Ukraine surrender all of Donetsk in exchange for freezing other front lines, but Zelensky rejects land swaps, leaving negotiations at a deadly stalemate.
  • With Europe and NATO pressuring Kyiv, Trump’s mix of sanctions threats and diplomatic pressure may be the last chance to force a deal or risk prolonged war with no end in sight.
The United States isn’t forcing Ukraine into a peace agreement with Russia, but after three and a half years of brutal war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has a blunt message for Kyiv: "It’s going to get worse." Following a high-stakes summit in Anchorage, Alaska, where President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed ending the conflict, Rubio made it clear that neither side will get everything it wants. "Both sides are going to have to give," he told CBS News, acknowledging the painful reality that some concessions will be "distasteful" but necessary to stop the killing. Trump, never one to mince words, took to Truth Social to amplify the urgency. After his Friday meeting with Putin — a rare direct dialogue since Russia’s 2022 invasion — the president reposted a supporter’s message declaring, "Ukraine must be willing to lose some territory to Russia otherwise the longer the war goes on they will keep losing even more land!!" The warning couldn’t be clearer: Ukraine is losing ground, American taxpayers are footing an unsustainable bill, and the longer this drags on, the worse the terms will be. Yet Zelensky remains defiant, insisting any deal must start with a "full and unconditional ceasefire", which is a demand Putin has repeatedly rejected.

A war America can no longer afford

The numbers don’t lie. Rubio admitted Russia’s economy has transformed into a "full-time wartime machine," absorbing staggering losses, including an estimated 20,000 soldiers in the last month alone, while Ukraine’s forces are stretched thin. Meanwhile, the U.S. has poured billions into a conflict that, by Rubio’s own admission, has devolved into a "meat grinder" where Russia simply has "more meat to grind." The question isn’t whether Ukraine can win; it’s whether Washington will keep bankrolling a stalemate while American families struggle with inflation and border chaos. Trump’s strategy? Pressure without surrender. At the Alaska summit, he dangled the threat of "severe consequences" for Russia if talks fail, including crippling secondary sanctions on nations buying Russian oil. But Rubio cautioned that pulling the trigger too soon could backfire.

Putin’s demands: Territory for a frozen front

So what does Putin want? According to reports, he’s pushing for Ukraine to cede the entire Donetsk region, even the parts Kyiv still controls, in exchange for freezing the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian advances have stalled. Zelensky has called that a non-starter, arguing Ukraine’s constitution forbids trading land. But Rubio’s message is clear: "There are things Russia wants that it cannot get, and there are things Ukraine wants that it’s not going to get." The Ukrainian president, whose term expired months ago, now faces a reckoning. With European leaders like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte flying to Washington for Monday’s White House meeting, the pressure is mounting. The truth is that both sides are dug in. Putin, Rubio noted, believes he has "momentum" on the battlefield. Zelensky, meanwhile, insists any territorial swaps must start from the current front lines. But with Russia’s economy weathering sanctions thanks to energy sales to China and India, and Ukraine’s counteroffensives failing, the math isn’t in Kyiv’s favor. Trump’s approach — carrot and stick — may be Ukraine’s last chance. He’s offered Putin a path to save face (and avoid total economic collapse) while telling Zelensky to "make the deal." The alternative? More bloodshed, more wasted dollars, and a Russia that grows bolder with each passing month. As Rubio put it, "This war is getting worse. It’s not getting better." The ball is now in Zelensky’s court. Will he gamble on a miracle victory, or will he finally accept that peace, however imperfect, is better than perpetual war? The American people are done paying for a conflict that has no end in sight, and if Trump’s negotiation skills can’t break the deadlock, nothing will. Sources for this article include: RT.com TheGuardian.com NYPost.com Axios.com
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