
US President sees Ukraine prepared for territorial losses and calls the hatred between Zelensky and Putin the biggest obstacle to peace
AI-generated summary
Since the beginning of his second term in office at the beginning of 2025, Trump has announced that he will soon end the war in Ukraine. Russia claims territories in eastern Ukraine, the rest of the Donbass region and Crimea that have been occupied since the start of the war. Ukraine relies on its constitutionally enshrined territorial integrity.
The war in Ukraine will end soon, says President Donald Trump again. This time he also commented on possible cessions of territory in the attacked country.
US President Donald Trump has long announced that he would soon ensure peace in Ukraine. (Archive image) Photo: Alex Brandon/AP/dpa
Washington. US President Donald Trump prepares Ukraine for territorial losses as a result of an agreement to end Russia's war of aggression. Trump reiterated in an interview on the TV show “60 Minutes” that he expects the war to end soon. "I think we can do that. I think that's what's going to happen. And in the end, Ukraine will have a slightly different shape," Trump said.
Russia lays claim to the areas in eastern Ukraine that have been occupied since the beginning of the war, as well as to the rest of the eastern Donbass region still under Ukrainian control. Russia also wants to keep the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. Ukraine points to the country's territorial integrity as enshrined in its constitution.
Trump has been announcing since the beginning of his second term in early 2025 that he would soon end the war. In some cases, he even said that the war of aggression that has been going on since February 2022 could be ended within 24 hours.
Trump: “Russia treated very disrespectfully”
Trump said in the new interview that, in his view, the biggest obstacle to ending the war was “the hatred” between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Reporter Ross Douthat then asked whether this was understandable on Zelensky's part given the Russian invasion. Trump replied: "Well, it is - but when they had their first meeting, Russia was treated very disrespectfully."
Trump refused to say whether he trusted Putin or Zelensky more. Trump also said he didn't believe the Kremlin leader was stalling him. “No one has been tougher on Russia than I have been,” Trump claimed.
He argued that he made the recent exception to US sanctions to allow the sale of Russian diesel because the global market needed it. In the USA, the move was seen as a rather desperate attempt to reduce fuel prices, which had risen as a result of the Iran war. Their rapid increase contributed to the resounding defeat of Trump's Republicans in the US congressional election last week.
Published according to the editorial standards of the Handelsblatt. You can find more information in our guidelines.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Trump will hold further talks on a peace agreement in the coming weeks or months.
Likely · Within weeks

The 24-year-old perpetrator of the gun attack in Krakow died of his injuries in hospital. Six people died in the crime, and three more bodies were found in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyskie. The authorities are investigating suspected terrorism.

US President Donald Trump appeared on “60 Minutes” to expect an early end to the war and concessions from Ukraine. He sees Russia being treated disrespectfully and cites the hatred between Zelensky and Putin as the biggest obstacle. Negotiations in Abu Dhabi are imminent.

Pope Leo XIV urges Argentina's President Javier Milei to be more considerate of weaker groups during a three-day visit to Buenos Aires. It is the first papal visit to Argentina in almost 40 years. Leo XIV is a native American and was previously in Peru.

The 31st UN World Climate Conference begins in Antalya under difficult circumstances. The world is heading for 2.8 degrees of warming, despite the Paris Agreement calling for 1.5 degrees. Germany is missing its climate goals, Chancellor Merz is missing, and the USA has withdrawn from the agreement. Host Türkiye proposes a new electrification target.

On his first visit to Argentina in almost 40 years, Pope Leo He visited Uruguay and continued on to Peru.

The ANC achieved its worst result in history in the local elections in South Africa with 30.76 percent and lost the majority in many municipalities. The DA has around 25 percent and is the strongest force in several large cities. Complicated multi-party coalition negotiations are now underway in Johannesburg, Durban and other cities. The elections were seen as a test of sentiment before the 2029 parliamentary elections.