Trump Presses Zelenskyy to Conclude Peace Talks With Russia, Citing $350 Billion Aid

Trump presses Zelensky

Donald Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to quickly conclude peace talks with Russia, telling reporters in the Oval Office, "We want Zelenskyy to make a deal. He can make a deal," and adding, "He will have to want a deal."

Trump presses for deal6 of 10 outlets reported it · not in CNN and 3 more▾

Trump said Russia holds the upper hand on the battlefield and claimed, "We provided $350 billion to Ukraine," while asserting, "We got nothing in return except high diesel prices."

$350bn and diesel claim1 of 1 outlets reported it▾

Zelenskyy flew to Oslo, Norway, and met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to mend ties, after which the sharing of early warning on Russian missile strikes provided by the U.S. military resumed and a security guarantee similar to Article 5 was also discussed.

Witkoff was scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, on the 21st to share a document with Russian leadership, as Russia intensified its offensive by heavily bombing power grids and port logistics hubs in seven Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv and the western city of Lviv.

Reporting for this sectionChosunbiz

Oslo talks and Starshield

Trump continued to blame Zelenskyy for holding up peace efforts, saying, "Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war, and if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very bad thing," while also telling reporters, "I don’t care how it’s done."

Zelenskyy met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders in Oslo, Norway, and Zelenskyy wrote after the meeting that his country has "some clear ideas on how to get to peace" and wants the Americans to take those ideas to the Russians.

Oslo talks with Witkoff4 of 8 outlets reported it · not in Chosunbiz and 3 more▾

Ukraine’s reliance on Starshield became part of the pressure campaign, as Ukrainian officials reported slowdowns with Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite system run by SpaceX, and Elon Musk wrote that "Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government."

The dispute over who ordered restrictions remained contested, with Reuters reporting that the order came from inside the White House, while The Wall Street Journal claimed US officials blamed Musk himself for the slowdown, and Trump and U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the government directed the restrictions.

Reporting for this sectionAl Jazeera

Impasse and stakes

The peace process reached an impasse, with CNN describing Moscow’s idea of peace as "basically victory" and noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to surrender the Donbas without further fighting. CNN said Russia was also applying "extraordinary pain on the people of Ukraine through drone strikes, through ballistic missile strikes, trying to destroy their energy infrastructure, their electricity," while Ukraine struck Russian refineries as the two sides remained locked in separate tracks.

Zelenskyy said after meeting Witkoff in Oslo that he was "thankful that intelligence sharing" with the United States "now works," and he also said he hoped for a positive word from Rubio soon on the US-made Patriot air defense system and Starlink. AP said Trump’s remarks and decisions, including waiving sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import Russian diesel, have pushed the U.S.-Ukraine alliance toward a possible breaking point, with Zelenskyy saying he feels betrayed and worries for his country’s future.

Reporting for this sectionCNNAP News