LOS ANGELES (OC).–President Donald Trump said that the main obstacle to a peace deal in Ukraine is President Volodymyr Zelensky, something that irks the European Union [EU]. EU officials have taken Zelensky’s position that he should not cede any territory to Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that Putin controls about 25% of Ukraine’s territory. President Donald Trump has spoken and met through his envoy Steve Witkoff six times with Putin, knowing exactly what Putin needs to end the war. Yet Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk says it’s Putin’s fault that the war hasn’t ended. Yet Tusk knows that the EU has no viable peace plan, only an unacceptable post-war security arrangement where NATO troops would occupy Ukraine. Putin has told the EU emphatically that he will not permit NATO troops in Ukraine in any post-war security arrangement.
Trump points fingers at Zelensky for blocking a peace deal but it’s been backed by the EU that seems content to continue funding proxy war with the Kremlin. How ironic that nearly four years ago, Putin offered to end the conflict if Zelensky recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, something currently on the table. Putin is willing to give back considerable territory to Ukraine, just not Eastern Donbas where the peoples’ republics of Donetsk and Luhansk want independence from Kiev. Yet with all the concessions Putin is willing to make, Zelensky and the EU refuse to cede any territory, essentially keeping the war going indefinitely. Apart from just bravado and stubborn pride, Zelensky and the EU have destroyed Ukraine over four years of war. What does Zelensky and the EU think will change without a legitimate peace deal?
Trump and his envoy Steve Witkoff have had numerous meetings with Putin, knowing exactly what’s required to end the Ukraine War. Judging by Zelensky’s insatiable thirst for Western cash, why would he ever end the war, when his Kiev government is essentially bankrupt? Zelensky can’t pay civil servants in Ukraine without EU cash, badgering Brussels to confiscate frozen Russian assets. Zelensky was told that it would escalate the war but, more importantly, would place the EU into legal liability. Showing he’s all about the cash, Zelensky fears a settlement that would automatically reduce the amount of aid he receives from the EU. Zelensky has no intent of giving up the billions of euros he’s already received, now approaching 300 billion euros, If the war ends, Zelensky would be forced to admit the extent of sovereign land lost to the Kremlin.
Zelensky worst fear is that Ukrainians would chase him out of Kiev when they realize he’s lost so much sovereign territory. “T think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said about Putin. “I think Ukraine—is less ready to make a deal,” putting the blame squarely on Zelensky. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov agreed with Trump that Zelensky has been holding up the peace process. “I agree that is indeed the case. President Putin and the Russian side remain open [to talks] . The Russian position is well known. It is well known to the American negotiators, to President Trump and to the leadership of the Kiev regime,” Peskov said. How ironic that Zelensky refuses to cut Putin any slack in Donbas when he already controls 80% of the territory and has since 2014. Zelensky tells the EU that all he needs is more cash-and-arms to eventually get back his territory.’
Zelensky acts like he hasn’t lost 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory over the last four years of war, pretending that more cash-and-arms would change the outcome. Putin has been very clear that he’s prepared, if needed, to go the distance in Ukraine, potentially taking over the whole country if Zelensky continues to strike deep inside the Russian Federation. Asking for more long-range missiles, Zelensky wants to keep the war going, no matter what it does to Ukraine. Recent reports from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry about millions of deserters and draft-dodgers indicates that he doesn’t have the backing of his people. Ukrainian young people have grown weary of war, knowing their comrades have been maimed or killed battling to maintain a tenuous front-line. Zelensky keeps telling the Ukrainian people that he’s winning the war with the Kremlin.
Zelensky has pitted the EU against Trump, insisting that Trump favors Russia over Ukraine in any peace negotiation. Trump told Zelensky Feb. 28, 2025 in the Oval Office that he didn’t have the cards to call the shots in any peace negotiation. Trump encouraged Zelensky to cut his losses, end the war and start the costly rebuilding of his country. Zelensly took great offense and stormed out of the Oval Office when Trump gave it to him straight. Zelensky has been told what he wants to hear from the EU that he doesn’t, to end the war, have to cede territory to Putin. Trump told Zelensky that he stood to lose nothing by ceding Eastern Donbas to Russia in exchange for peace. Zelensky doesn’t control the territory now and hasn’t controlled it since 2014, the date of the Maiden Revolution. Zelensky is clearly Trump’s main obstacle to peace.
About the Author John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma
