Zelenskyy hits back at Trump's claims he is prolonging war by not ceding land to Russia

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a veiled rebuke to his US counterpart Donald Trump's accusation that he is prolonging the war by refusing to cede territory to Russia.

After peace talks in London with representatives from the US, UK, France and Germany, Zelenskyy thanked participants in a post on X, saying "it is exactly such joint work that will lead to lasting peace."

He also said that Ukraine would always act in accordance with its constitution, and that he was "absolutely sure that our partners in particular the USA will act in line with its strong decisions."

In his post, he linked to a press statement issued by Trump's then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he slammed the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, reminding Moscow that "no country can change the borders of another by force."

"As we did in the Welles Declaration in 1940, the United States reaffirms as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law," the statement read.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian leader is prolonging the "killing field" after he pushed back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.

"This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"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?"

Trump added that "inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy's" is making "it so difficult to settle this War."

"He has nothing to boast about!" Trump said. "The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country."

Zelenskyy's statement "will do nothing but prolong the 'killing field,' and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with "no cards to play" should now, finally, GET IT DONE."

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy ruled out the idea of Kyiv ceding territory to Moscow in any deal before talks in London between US, 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 in Paris last week, US officials presented a proposal that included freezing the frontline and allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory, according to a European official familiar with the matter.

A planned meeting on Wednesday involving top US, British, French and Ukrainian diplomats to push forward a peace deal was pared back at the last minute, when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled his participation.

"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," Vice President JD Vance told reporters in 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 further details of the proposal.

A senior European official familiar with the ongoing talks involving the American team said a proposal that the US says is "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 several days later, Ukrainian officials were surprised to find that Washington portrayed them as final, according to the official.

Zelenskyy said on 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 his Telegram page, in accordance with a proposal he said the United States tabled six weeks ago.

Ukraine and some Western European governments have accused 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.