A bitter pill for peace: Trump urges Ukraine to CEDE territory to end the war
By avagrace // 2025-10-22
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  • Trump advocates for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, framing it as a necessary, pragmatic step to end the war based on the current front lines, where Russia controls a significant portion of Ukrainian land.
  • The U.S. policy has shifted decisively from supporting Ukraine's goal of total liberation to prioritizing an immediate ceasefire, a move that has unsettled European allies.
  • A tense meeting with Zelensky resulted in a refusal of advanced weapons; instead of receiving requested long-range missiles, Zelensky was pressured to accept a territorial deal with Moscow.
  • The proposed deal would involve Ukraine formally ceding the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for the return of smaller, less critical parts of other occupied territories, a swap Ukrainian officials view as an existential threat.
  • This new push for a swift settlement marks a sharp reversal from Trump's recent stance and is reportedly influenced by a phone call with Putin, leading to preparations for a high-stakes Trump-Putin summit.
In a stark assessment of the grinding conflict between Russia and Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that Kyiv will inevitably have to cede sovereign territory to Moscow to secure an end to the war. The president made the comments during a televised interview Sunday, Oct. 19, framing the concession as a painful but necessary reality of a fight that has tilted in Moscow's favor. This stance was reinforced during a tense private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky days earlier. Trump's stance signals a decisive and controversial shift in U.S. policy toward prioritizing an immediate ceasefire over Ukraine’s maximalist goal of total territorial liberation – a move that has left America’s closest European ally deeply unsettled. Trump plainly stated in the interview Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to retain control over significant Ukrainian land. He characterized these regions as property won through military conflict, suggesting that the current front lines, where Russia occupies approximately 78 percent of the territory in question, should form the basis for a ceasefire. The interview followed a private meeting on Oct. 17 between Trump and Zelensky that multiple sources described as tense and disappointing for the Ukrainian delegation. Zelensky arrived in Washington with a primary goal: to secure advanced U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, powerful long-range weapons that could strike deep behind Russian lines Instead of receiving a commitment for the game-changing munitions, he was met with a firm refusal and a push from Trump to accept a territorial deal with Moscow. During the meeting, the real estate mogul also proposed a cessation of hostilities based on the current battle lines, a plan Zelensky reluctantly embraced in public comments afterward. This proposal – which would effectively freeze the conflict and leave Russia in control of vast swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine – was reportedly formulated by Trump after Zelensky reiterated his refusal to voluntarily surrender any land. The U.S. president argued that negotiating from the existing demarcation line was the most viable path to a quick peace.

Zelensky's dilemma: Surrender the Donbas or face endless war?

Sources familiar with the discussion indicated that U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, aggressively urged Ukrainian leaders to accept a specific territorial swap proposed by Putin. The deal would involve Ukraine formally ceding the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for the return of smaller, less strategically critical parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Ukrainian officials view this as an existential threat, arguing that surrendering the Donbas region they still hold would be a suicidal move that leaves the nation vulnerable to future Russian aggression. This renewed push for a swift settlement represents a notable pivot in the Trump administration’s posture. Just weeks prior, following a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump had speculated that Ukraine could potentially reclaim all its lost territory. The abrupt return to a pressure campaign on Kyiv has led to speculation that Trump’s stance was heavily influenced by a phone call with Putin held just one day before the Zelensky summit. The historical context of this moment cannot be overstated. Since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014 and its full-scale escalation in 2022, the U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have maintained a unified front, supplying billions in military aid to Ukraine under the principle that allowing a larger nation to redraw borders by force sets a dangerous global precedent. Trump’s current approach challenges this consensus, arguing that endless conflict is not in America’s national interest and that a negotiated settlement, however imperfect, is the only realistic conclusion. The White House is now preparing for a high-stakes summit between Trump and Putin in Budapest, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio scheduled to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to lay the groundwork. A previous meeting in Alaska ended without progress, and the prospects for a breakthrough remain uncertain. The fundamental question is whether a peace process that pressures the victim of aggression to surrender land can yield a stable and just outcome, or if it merely rewards the aggressor and plants the seeds for future conflict. Ultimately, the Trump administration is betting that the stark realities of the battlefield and the economic costs of a prolonged war outweigh the ideal of restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders. This hard-nosed calculus presents Kyiv with an agonizing choice: continue a bloody struggle for every inch of territory with diminished support, or accept a wounded peace that sacrifices land for the survival of the nation. "A wounded peace is a fragile or damaged state of non-conflict," said BrightU.AI's Enoch. "This suggests a peace that is unstable and suffering from significant, unresolved issues." Watch this Fox News report about President Trump announcing his meeting with Putin in Hungary to bring the war to an end. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. Sources include:  RT.com Reuters.com RNZ.co.nz BrightU.ai Brighteon.com
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