Mon Oct 20 22:50:00 UTC 2025: News Article:

Trump Urges Ukraine to Cede Territory in Contentious Meeting with Zelensky

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump reportedly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make territorial concessions to Russia to end the ongoing war, according to European officials briefed on the Friday meeting. The working lunch between the two leaders reportedly became heated as Trump, who will soon meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, insisted on land concessions from Kyiv.

Sources say Trump grew frustrated and raised his voice during the meeting, marking a shift in his stance on the war. Last month, Trump suggested Ukraine could regain all lost territory, but following a call with Putin, he is now pushing for a settlement that would involve Ukraine ceding land.

Trump downplayed the reports of a volatile meeting on Monday. “I never said they would win it. I said they could win,” he told reporters, adding, “Anything could happen. You know, war is a very strange thing.” He has endorsed a freeze in current battle lines as part of a peace settlement.

While a Ukrainian source described the meeting as “tense” but “constructive,” European officials painted a more concerning picture. Zelensky reportedly sounded pessimistic about Trump’s position following the meeting.

According to the European officials, Putin proposed a plan during his call with Trump where Ukraine would surrender the Donbas region in exchange for some Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. While Trump denied asking Zelensky to concede the entire Donbas region, he has emphasized the need for both sides to “stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines” and end the conflict quickly.

Trump aims to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, similar to the truce he facilitated between Israel and Hamas. He has stated that a ceasefire along current battle lines is necessary due to the “realities of where the conflict stands.”

The White House has not directly addressed the reports of a contentious meeting but pointed to Trump’s comments suggesting a ceasefire along existing battle lines as the best path forward.

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