Trump says Zelenskyy is prolonging war in Ukraine over Crimea question

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukraine’s president, saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prolonging the “killing field” after pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday ruled out ceding territory to Russia in any deal before talks set for Wednesday in London among U.S., European and Ukrainian officials. “There is nothing to talk about. It is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people,” Zelenskyy said.

During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump called Zelenkyy’s pushback “very harmful” to talks.

“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” he wrote on social media.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 after sending troops to overrun it. Weeks later, Moscow-backed separatists launched an uprising in eastern Ukraine, battling Kyiv’s forces.

Trump also asserted they were close to a deal and that Ukraine’s leader can have peace or “he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” adding that Zelenskyy’s statement “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that!”

‘A very fair proposal’

Wednesday’s meeting was pared back at the last minute, while Vice President JD Vance said negotiations are reaching a moment of truth.

“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’ or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters during a visit to India.

He said it was “a very fair proposal” that would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today,” with both sides having to give up some territory they currently hold. He did not provide details.

Trump, who is set to travel to Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, told reporters later on Wednesday that he did not know if he would meet with Zelenskyy or other European leaders to discuss the war while in Italy. He also said that has found dealing with Zelenskyy harder than dealing with the Russians.

Trump, who is set to travel to the Middle East next month, said it was “possible” that he could meet with Putin while in Saudi Arabia, but that it is more likely he will meet with the Russian leader soon after that trip.

A senior European official familiar with the ongoing talks involving the American team said a proposal the United States calls “final” was initially presented last week in Paris, where it was described as “just ideas” — and that they could be changed.

When those “ideas” surfaced in media reports, Ukrainian officials were surprised to find that Washington portrayed them as final, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations that might bring a ceasefire and open the door to full peace negotiations, as he mourned nine civilians killed when a Russian drone struck a bus earlier in the day.

“We insist on an immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media, in accordance with a proposal he said the U.S. tabled six weeks ago.

Ukraine and some Western European governments have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet on that proposal as his army tries to capture more Ukrainian land. Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks because it has battlefield momentum.

Doubts over negotiations

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the talks in London to find an end to the more than three-year war would involve only lower-ranking officials, after the U.S. State Department said Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unable to attend because of a scheduling issue.

Rubio’s abrupt cancellation raised doubts about the direction of negotiations. He had indicated that Wednesday’s meeting could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration remains engaged.

Commenting on those attending the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “as far as we understand, they so far have failed to bring their positions closer on some issues.” He said the Kremlin was still in consultations with American officials but wouldn’t publicly discuss details.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow again later this week, according to Russian officials.

Even achieving a limited, 30-day ceasefire has been beyond the reach of negotiators, as both sides continue to attack each other along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and launch long-range strikes.

A Russian drone struck a bus carrying workers in Marganets, in eastern Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Wednesday morning, killing eight women and one man, regional head Serhii Lysak wrote on social media. More than 40 people were injured, he said.

Lysak published photos of a bus with windows blown out and shards of glass mixed with blood spattered on its floor.

A Ukrainian delegation in London

Trump has pushed for an end to the war and said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head.” That comment came after Rubio suggested the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if they don’t progress.

Those still attending Wednesday’s meeting include retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said on social media that a delegation including him, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had arrived in London for the talks despite the alterations.

“The path to peace is not easy, but Ukraine has been and remains committed to peaceful efforts,” Yermak said. Officials would “discuss ways to achieve a full and unconditional ceasefire as the first step toward a comprehensive settlement and the achievement of a just and lasting peace.”

Several hours later, Yermak said that he, Sybiha and Umerov met with national security and foreign policy advisors from the countries “participating in the coalition of the willing” and “emphasized our commitment” to the U.S. president’s peace efforts.

He asserted on social media that “Russia continues to reject an unconditional ceasefire, dragging out the process and trying to manipulate negotiations.”

Trump said repeatedly during his election campaign last year that he would be able to end the war “in 24 hours” upon taking office. But he has expressed frustration with Zelenskyy and Putin. Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.

Some European allies are wary of the American proposal for Ukraine to exchange land for peace. But an official said there’s also acknowledgment by some allies that Russia is firmly entrenched wholly or partially in five regions of Ukraine: Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

If the goal is to obtain a ceasefire immediately, “it should be based on the line of contact as it is,” said the senior French official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with French presidential policy.

Novikov reported from Kyiv and Madhani from Washington. Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

乌克兰基辅（美联社）——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三猛烈抨击乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基，称泽连斯基拒绝将克里米亚割让给俄罗斯作为潜在和平计划的一部分，从而延长了“杀戮战场”。

泽连斯基周二排除了在周三于伦敦举行的美欧乌三方会谈之前，向俄罗斯割让领土的可能性。“没什么好谈的。这是我们的土地，是乌克兰人民的土地。”泽连斯基说。

据一位熟悉此事的欧洲官员透露，上周在巴黎举行的类似会谈中，美国官员提出了一项提议，其中包括允许俄罗斯在协议中继续控制被占领的乌克兰领土。这位官员未被授权公开评论此事，因此要求匿名。

特朗普称泽连基的反击对谈判“非常有害”。

“没有人要求泽连斯基承认克里米亚是俄罗斯领土，但如果他想要克里米亚，为什么11年前克里米亚在没有开一枪的情况下移交给俄罗斯时，他们没有争取呢？”他在社交媒体上写道。

2014年，俄罗斯派兵占领克里米亚后将其吞并。数周后，莫斯科支持的分离主义分子在乌克兰东部发动叛乱，与基辅军队交战。

特朗普还断言他们即将达成协议，乌克兰领导人可以选择和平，或者“再打三年仗，直到失去整个国家”，并补充说泽连斯基的声明“只会延长‘杀戮战场’，没有人希望看到这种情况！”

“非常合理的提议”

周三的会议在最后一刻缩减了规模，而副总统 JD Vance 表示，谈判正接近关键时刻。

“我们已经向俄罗斯和乌克兰提出了非常明确的提议，现在是他们要么说‘是’，要么美国退出这一进程的时候了，”万斯在访问印度期间告诉记者。

他表示，这是一项“非常公平的提议”，将“把领土边界冻结在接近现状的某个水平”，双方都必须放弃目前占据的部分领土。他没有提供具体细节。

特朗普将于周六前往罗马参加教皇方济各的葬礼。他周三晚些时候告诉记者，他不知道在意大利期间是否会与泽连斯基或其他欧洲领导人会面讨论战争问题。他还表示，他发现与泽连斯基打交道比与俄罗斯人打交道更难。

特朗普将于下个月访问中东，他表示，他有可能在沙特阿拉伯期间与普京会面，但更有可能的是，他会在访问结束后不久与这位俄罗斯领导人会面。

一位熟悉美国团队正在进行的谈判的欧洲高级官员表示，美国称之为“最终”的提案最初于上周在巴黎提出，当时被描述为“只是想法”，而且可能会有所改变。

据一位不愿透露姓名的官员称，当这些“想法”出现在媒体报道中时，乌克兰官员惊讶地发现，华盛顿方面将这些想法描述为最终版本。这位官员没有被授权公开评论此事。

泽连斯基周三表示，乌克兰已准备好接受任何形式的谈判，以期实现停火并开启全面和平谈判的大门。此前，一架俄罗斯无人机在当天早些时候袭击了一辆公共汽车，造成九名平民丧生。

泽连斯基在社交媒体上写道：“我们坚持立即全面无条件停火。”他表示，这是美国六周前提出的建议。

乌克兰和一些西欧国家政府指责俄罗斯总统普京在和平谈判问题上拖延不决，而与此同时，俄罗斯军队正试图占领更多乌克兰领土。西方分析人士则认为，莫斯科并不急于结束和平谈判，因为它在战场上占据优势。

谈判前景存疑

英国外交大臣戴维·拉米表示，在伦敦举行的旨在结束这场持续三年多战争的会谈将只涉及级别较低的官员。此前，美国国务院周二表示，由于日程安排问题，国务卿马可·卢比奥无法出席。

鲁比奥突然取消会面，引发了人们对谈判走向的疑虑。他曾表示，周三的会晤可能对特朗普政府是否继续参与谈判起到决定性作用。

克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫在评论与会各方时表示，“据我们了解，他们迄今为止在一些问题上仍未能达成共识。” 他说，克里姆林宫仍在与美国官员进行磋商，但不会公开讨论细节。

据俄罗斯官员透露，美国特使史蒂夫·威特科夫预计将于本周晚些时候再次访问莫斯科。

即使达成为期 30 天的有限停火也超出了谈判者的能力范围，因为双方继续沿着 1000 公里（620 英里）的前线互相攻击，并发动远程打击。

周三上午，一架俄罗斯无人机在乌克兰东部第聂伯罗彼得罗夫斯克州马尔加涅茨镇袭击了一辆载有工人的巴士，造成8名女性和1名男性死亡。第聂伯罗彼得罗夫斯克州州长谢尔盖·利萨克在社交媒体上发文称，另有40多人受伤。

莱萨克公布了一辆公交车的照片，车窗被震碎，玻璃碎片混杂着血迹溅落在地板上。

乌克兰代表团在伦敦

特朗普一直力促结束战争，并于上周表示谈判“即将进入关键阶段”。此前，卢比奥曾暗示，如果谈判没有进展，美国可能很快就会退出。

周三仍出席会议的人员包括退役中将基思·凯洛格，他是特朗普的乌克兰和俄罗斯问题特使。

乌克兰总统办公室主任安德烈·叶尔马克在社交媒体上表示，尽管谈判有所变动，但包括他本人、外交部长安德烈·西比哈和国防部长鲁斯捷姆·乌梅罗夫在内的代表团已经抵达伦敦参加会谈。

叶尔马克表示：“和平之路并非坦途，但乌克兰过去和现在都致力于和平努力。”官员们将“探讨如何实现全面无条件停火，以此作为达成全面解决方案和实现公正持久和平的第一步。”

几个小时后，叶尔马克表示，他和西比哈、乌梅罗夫会见了“参与自愿联盟”各国的国家安全和外交政策顾问，并“强调了我们对美国总统和平努力的承诺”。

他在社交媒体上断言，“俄罗斯继续拒绝无条件停火，拖延进程，并试图操纵谈判。”

特朗普在去年的竞选活动中多次表示，他上任后就能在“24小时内”结束这场战争。但他对泽连斯基和普京都表达了不满。俄罗斯实际上拒绝了美国提出的立即全面停火30天的提议，并附加了诸多限制条件。

一些欧洲盟友对美国提出的以领土换取和平的提议持谨慎态度。但一位官员表示，一些盟友也承认，俄罗斯已在乌克兰的五个地区——克里米亚、卢甘斯克、顿涅茨克、扎波罗热和赫尔松——拥有全部或部分稳固的势力。

一位不愿透露姓名的法国高级官员表示，如果目标是立即实现停火，“就应该以目前的接触线为基础”。此举符合法国总统的政策。

诺维科夫从基辅报道，马德哈尼从华盛顿报道。汉娜·阿尔希罗娃（基辅）和安吉拉·查尔顿（巴黎）亦有贡献。