President Trump and his top aides demanded on Wednesday that Ukraine accede to an American-designed proposal that would essentially grant Russia all the territory it has gained in the war, while offering Kyiv only vague security assurances.
The American plan, which would also explicitly block Ukraine from ever joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was rejected by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, whose long-running dispute with Mr. Trump broke into the open two months ago in the Oval Office. The proposal also appears to call for the United States to recognize Russia’s 2014 takeover of Crimea, a region of Ukraine.
“There is nothing to talk about,” Mr. Zelensky said. “This violated our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of Ukraine.”
Mr. Trump shot back on social media that the Ukrainian president was being “inflammatory” and said he would only “prolong the ‘killing field.’”
Mr. Trump suggested the proposal was on the verge of acceptance by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. “I think we have a deal with Russia,” he told reporters at the White House. The problem, he suggested, was Mr. Zelensky.
“I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky,” he said. “So far it’s harder.”
Vice President JD Vance struck a similar theme while traveling in India.