Trump Accuses Zelensky of Hindering Peace in Ukraine

Trump accuses Zelensky of blocking peace in Ukraine.
This was reported by the BBC.
Here are the details.

U.S. President Donald Trump strongly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of obstructing peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia due to «incendiary statements.»

According to Trump, these statements only serve to prolong the armed conflict.

The controversy arose after Zelensky stated during a press conference that Ukraine “will not recognize Russian control over Crimea,” the peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Trump responded on his social network, Truth Social, claiming that such comments are “highly detrimental to negotiations” and warned that this kind of stance only fuels the “battlefield of death.”

Trump accuses Zelensky of blocking peace in Ukraine

“Incendiary statements”—Donald Trump accuses Zelensky of obstructing peace talks with Russia https://t.co/ms6snf2yxt

— El Universo (@eluniversocom) April 23, 2025

“Stopping the bloodshed is the number one priority,” Zelensky responded the following day on social media, reaffirming Kyiv’s stance on the Russian occupation.

Tensions between Trump and Zelensky are nothing new, but they have escalated since Trump resumed the presidency. In February, they had a tense meeting in the Oval Office.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could «end the war in a day,» yet as he approaches his first 100 days back in office, peace still appears distant.

Vice President JD Vance also intensified the rhetoric, stating during a visit to India that if the parties fail to reach an agreement soon, “the United States will withdraw from the negotiation process.”

“We’ve done extraordinary diplomatic work,” he added, suggesting that any resolution would require both nations to concede parts of the territory they currently hold.

A setback in negotiations

Trump resumes his attacks on Zelensky for “blocking peace”: “If he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it?” https://t.co/2zpips3rp4

— El HuffPost (@ElHuffPost) April 23, 2025

Last week, negotiations suffered a major setback when the U.S. unexpectedly pulled out of a key meeting in London—set to include representatives from the U.K., France, Germany, Ukraine, and the U.S.—to focus instead on new diplomatic rounds in Moscow.

Instead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, who canceled their attendance at the last minute, retired General Keith Kellogg was appointed as the U.S. representative in European talks, while Witkoff traveled to Russia for a fourth meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

According to recent leaks, a central element of the U.S. proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine includes officially recognizing Crimea as Russian territory—something Kyiv has categorically rejected.

Zelensky stated that such a proposal “violates our constitution” and denied receiving any formal offers to that effect.

The conflict continues to claim lives

🇺🇸 🇺🇦 Trump says Ukraine peace deal ‘very close’ but slams Zelensky’s Crimea stance pic.twitter.com/zqbvk6tln6

— WE News English (@WENewsEnglish) April 23, 2025

From Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Financial Times reports suggesting that Russia was willing to freeze the conflict along current front lines in exchange for international concessions. “There’s a lot of fake news circulating today,” he said.

Meanwhile, the conflict continues to take lives. On Wednesday, a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Marhanets killed at least nine people and injured dozens more, following a brief pause during Orthodox Easter.

The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and nearly seven million refugees.

Peace talks remain stalled amid a delicate balance of diplomacy, internal pressures, and the brutal reality of the battlefield.

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