LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bluntly protested against the U.S. and Russia negotiating over Ukraine’s head, after President Donald Trump unilaterally announced an immediate start to direct peace talks with President Vladimir Putin to end the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.
Trump said in a post to social media on Wednesday that he spoke with Putin by phone, adding the two leaders “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” to end the fighting in Ukraine after nearly three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump’s announcement came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory occupied by Russian forces and will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.
“We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreements without us,” he told reporters, while also adding that Europe needs to be involved.
Zelenskyy also told reporters that 100,000 European troops would be needed as peacekeepers to police a ceasefire in Ukraine if real security guarantees are not provided by the U.S. and NATO. He repeated an idea of a “Plan B” he raised earlier this week — that if Ukraine does not receive security guarantees or NATO membership, then Ukraine must receive enough weapons to simply secure itself.
When asked by a reporter at the Oval Office on Thursday if Ukraine would have a seat at the negotiation table, Trump responded, “Of course they would.”
“We would have Ukraine, would have Russia, and we’ll have other people involved, too,” he said.
Germany protests ‘regrettable’ Trump ‘concessions’ to Putin on Ukraine
NATO ministers quickly pushed back on Trump’s actions.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said it was “regrettable” that “the Trump administration has already made public concessions to Putin before negotiations have even begun.”
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur concurred. “We must not hand Russia any advantage before negotiations even begin,” Pevkur said in a statement.
Hegseth rejected the premise that Trump has weakened his bargaining position with Putin during a press conference at NATO on Thursday.
“It’s just a cheap political point to say, ‘Oh, we’ve left all the negotiating cards off the table by recognizing some realities that exist on the ground,'” Hegseth said. “President Zelenskyy understands the realities on the ground, President Putin understands the realities on the ground, and President Trump, as a dealmaker, as a negotiator, understands those dynamics as well.”
“By no means is anything that I state here, even though we lead the most powerful military in the world, hemming in the commander in chief in his negotiations to ultimately decide where it goes or does not go — he’s got all the cards he would like,” he continued.
‘Everything is on the table’ in talks: Hegseth
Though Hegseth has called the possibility of NATO membership for Ukraine unrealistic, he said Thursday that those remarks have no bearing on the options Trump could exercise, saying, “Everything is on the table in his conversations with Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy.”
Moscow launched its attack in February 2022 with the aim of toppling Zelenskyy’s government in Kyiv and annexing swaths of the country. The “special military operation” — as the Kremlin termed the invasion — expanded on Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its fomentation of, and active military support for, separatist rebellion in parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
“I think we’re on the way to getting peace,” Trump said. He did not clarify whether Ukraine and Zelenskyy would be directly involved in any peace talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview Thursday that Ukraine will be involved in talks over the settlement of the war, but the U.S. will be the main intermediary with Russia during the talks.
“Of course, we understand that Washington is our main vis-a-vis in this process,” Peskov said.
“One way or another, Ukraine will of course participate in talks,” he added.
Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine be sidelined in the talks, having dismissed Zelenskyy as “illegitimate.” That deviates from years of U.S. and allied policy, under which former President Joe Biden was guided by the “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” principle, with the former president also refusing to speak directly with Putin while the war continued.
Putin, Trump did not discuss Europe’s participation, Kremlin says
The call between Putin and Trump did not involve a discussion of Europe’s participation in negotiations aimed at settling the Ukrainian conflict, Peskov said in another interview Thursday.
“This was not discussed in any way. And European affairs were not touched on in any way during yesterday’s conversation,” Peskov said.
Europe will “need to talk to Washington to somehow stake out its place,” he said.
Ukraine and American allies in Europe have called for a unified negotiating front.
“We are looking forward to discussing the way ahead together with our American allies,” said a joint statement from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Ukraine, the European Union’s European External Action Service and the European Commission.
“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength,” the statement added. “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said on X, “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional.”
Trump spoke with Zelenskyy after Putin call
Trump spoke with Zelenskyy after his phone call with Putin. The Ukrainian leader said in a post to social media that the two discussed “opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine’s technological capabilities — including drones and other advanced industries.”
Addressing the conversation, Trump said on Truth Social that Zelenskyy, “like President Putin, wants to make PEACE.”
Trump separately hinted at the expiry of Zelenskyy’s presidential term. Ukraine was due to hold presidential elections last year, but the vote was delayed as the country is still under martial law as a result of Russia’s invasion. At “some point you’re going to have an election,” Trump said.
During his remarks Thursday, Zelenskyy acknowledged Trump calling Putin first was “not very pleasant” but said what mattered now was that Trump meet him before meeting Putin.
“We’ve already had three conversations with President Trump, so I don’t consider this call a priority or see it as him choosing to talk to Russia first. Still, it’s not very pleasant in any case,” he said. “If calls are just calls, I understand, but meetings are our priority. Ukraine, America, and only after those meetings, after working out a plan to stop Putin, would it be fair to talk with the Russians.”
Trump said a meeting between Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scheduled during the weekend Munich Security Conference event in Germany.
Trump said he would meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia, though did not set a date.
The State Department said that Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg will begin a 10-day visit to Germany, Belgium and Ukraine on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, Peskov told reporters that Moscow had begun preparing a negotiating group to organize a meeting between Trump and Putin.
“Definitely started. And as the president makes the appropriate decisions, we will inform you,” Peskov said.
When asked if a visit by U.S. representatives to Moscow is expected in the near future, Peskov said: “Not yet. So far, there are no specific agreements in this regard.”
More reaction to Trump, Hegseth remarks
Hegseth preceded Trump’s latest remarks by telling allies in Belgium on Wednesday that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory from Russian occupation, and that Kyiv will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.
“The bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegseth said. His address was the most detailed delineation of the Trump administration’s desired peace deal since the president returned to the Oval Office.
Pro-talk signals from the U.S. raised concerns in Ukraine and abroad that Kyiv will be forced into territorial and political concessions in exchange for an end to the fighting.
John Bolton — Trump’s former national security adviser — for example, said on X that the president’s approach is tantamount to a “sell out” of Ukraine. “Trump has effectively surrendered to Putin on Ukraine.”
The latest remarks from Trump and Hegseth also stoked concerns inside Ukraine. “It’s a bad sign that he has talked first to Putin, not to Zelenskyy,” Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News.
“Such a phone call is in itself a reward for Putin,” he added. “It’s sort of a break in his political isolation.”
Still, Merezhko said Trump’s approach does “not quite” mean a total exclusion of Ukraine. “The principle ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’ is more about not taking decisions without Ukraine which have influence upon Ukraine,” he said.
Pressure for peace is building within and without. A Gallup poll published in November indicated that most Ukrainians favored a rapid end to the devastating war. Zelenskyy’s public rhetoric largely reflects this sentiment, though the president has warned that no peace deal is sustainable without concrete U.S. security guarantees.
“This war of attrition is only going to make us weaker,” Iuliia Mendel — Zelenskyy’s former press secretary — told ABC News. “For a long time, Ukraine has been at the stage when negotiations are urgent to save the nation.”
Moscow and Kyiv maneuvering for leverage
Both Moscow and Kyiv are maneuvering for leverage in preparation for revived talks. This week, Russia and the U.S. concluded a prisoner swap described by Trump as a goodwill gesture that could help advance peace talks.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv to discuss a potential deal to secure U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukrainian minerals.
Russian and Ukrainian leaders have both expressed readiness to resume negotiations, though neither side has indicated willingness to make significant concessions.
This week, Zelenskyy suggested Ukraine would be ready to give up territory it seized in Russia’s western Kursk region in exchange for the liberation of some Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s troops.
Peskov dismissed the idea as “impossible” at a Wednesday briefing with journalists. “Russia has never discussed an exchange of its territories and never will,” Peskov said.
“Naturally, Ukrainian units will be ousted from this territory. Everyone who is not eliminated will be ousted,” Peskov added.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Anastasia Bagaeva, Nataliia Popova, Zoe Magee, Tanya Stukalova, Tom Soufi Burridge, Patrick Reevell and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.
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