{"id":24859,"date":"2025-08-20T15:04:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T15:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=24859"},"modified":"2025-08-20T15:04:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T15:04:05","slug":"zelenskyys-awkward-response-to-trumps-claim-he-could-end-the-war-almost-immediately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=24859","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyy\u2019s \u2018awkward\u2019 response to Trump\u2019s claim he could end the war \u2018almost immediately\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The world has been holding its breath for a breakthrough in the war between Russia and Ukraine \u2014 and this weekend, all eyes turned to Alaska as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down face-to-face.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"lixoa69fed60a5507b\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.lixoa69fed60a5507b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.lixoa69fed60a5507b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.lixoa69fed60a5507b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.lixoa69fed60a5507b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.lixoa69fed60a5507b {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p><strong>Many expected some kind of peace deal to come out of the meeting. Instead? Nothing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-made-his-stance-clear\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Made his stance clear<\/h2>\n<p>Now, Trump is turning his attention to Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy \u2014and their meeting in Washington is already setting the stage for fireworks.<\/p>\n<p>For context: the last time Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance crossed paths on U.S. soil, it was chaos. Sharp words were exchanged, and the two leaders left on very bad terms.<\/p>\n<p>But today (August 18), Trump and Zelenskyy are back in the same city \u2014 this time with peace, NATO, and the future of Ukraine hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n<p>And Trump didn\u2019t wait for the meeting to make his stance clear. Posting on Truth Social, he declared:<\/p>\n<p>\u201dPresident Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-zelenskyy-s-response\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Zelenskyy\u2019s response<\/h2>\n<p>That statement set off a storm online \u2014 and it didn\u2019t take long for Zelenskyy to respond with his own carefully worded message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have already arrived in Washington, tomorrow I am meeting with President Trump,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTomorrow we are also speaking with European leaders. I am grateful to @POTUS for the invitation. We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East \u2014 part of Donbas \u2014 and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOr when Ukraine was given so-called \u2018security guarantees\u2019 in 1994, but they didn\u2019t work. Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ukraine-s-disarmament-deal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ukraine\u2019s disarmament deal<\/h2>\n<p>After the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine inherited about a third of its nuclear arsenal \u2014 the world\u2019s third largest at the time. But in 1994, under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its weapons in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., UK, France, China, and Russia. Those guarantees were supposed to protect Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Three decades later, with Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion proving those promises worthless, many Ukrainians now believe disarming was a mistake. Former officials admit they were \u201cnaive\u201d to trust that Russia wouldn\u2019t attack and that the West would step in if it did.<\/p>\n<p>This history is why Zelenskyy insists that vague \u201cassurances\u201d are no longer enough\u2014Ukraine now demands binding guarantees, like NATO membership, as the only real protection against future Russian aggression.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-russia-must-end-this-war\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cRussia must end this war\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Zelenskyy also pointed out that Ukrainian forces are seeing progress on the battlefield.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe country\u2019s soldiers have had \u2018successes\u2019 in the Donetsk and Sumy regions,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRussia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace. Thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Trump pitching \u201cinstant peace\u201d and Zelenskyy insisting peace must be lasting, today\u2019s meeting in Washington could set the tone for what comes next in the world\u2019s most dangerous conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world has been holding its breath for a breakthrough in the war between Russia and Ukraine \u2014 and this weekend, all eyes turned to Alaska as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down face-to-face. Many expected some kind of peace deal to come out of the meeting. Instead? Nothing. Made his stance clear Now,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,17,11,20,24,15,12,25,22,18,16,21,14,23,13],"class_list":["post-24859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-diseases","tag-fitness","tag-health-tips","tag-healthcare-technology","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-medical-advice","tag-medical-awareness","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health","tag-nutrition","tag-patient-care","tag-preventive-care","tag-public-health","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Zelenskyy\u2019s \u2018awkward\u2019 response to Trump\u2019s claim he could end the war \u2018almost immediately\u2019 - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=24859\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zelenskyy\u2019s \u2018awkward\u2019 response to Trump\u2019s claim he could end the war \u2018almost immediately\u2019 - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The world has been holding its breath for a breakthrough in the war between Russia and Ukraine \u2014 and this weekend, all eyes turned to Alaska as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin sat down face-to-face. 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