U.S. President Donald Trump hinted to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during their October 17 meeting at the White House that Ukraine would “freeze and be destroyed” should it fail to reach an agreement with Russia. The remark, reportedly delivered in frustration, reflected growing tension between Washington and Kyiv over the pace of negotiations with Moscow, Reuters said.
“The message was: ‘Your country will freeze and be destroyed’ if Ukraine doesn’t make a deal with Russia,” a White House official told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
Another source disputed the claim that Trump predicted Ukraine’s destruction but confirmed that the American president used harsh language throughout the meeting.
According to Axios, Trump abruptly ended the 2.5-hour conversation by saying, “We’ll see what happens next week.” One insider described the talks as “difficult,” while another called them simply “bad.”
Putin Call Reportedly Changed Trump’s Tone on Ukraine
As reported by Politico, Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine shifted dramatically after a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It seems that with one phone call, Putin once again changed Trump’s mind about Ukraine,” one source told the magazine.
Following the call, Trump allegedly turned away from discussions about supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv, instead pressing for territorial concessions to Russia as part of a possible peace settlement. Sources claimed that Zelensky misread the situation and focused too narrowly on the missile request, missing opportunities to negotiate other advantageous deals.
“By not backing off the Tomahawk request, Ukraine missed the chance to focus on other important issues—particularly air-to-air missiles for F-16s and MiGs, and surface-to-air missiles for Patriot air defense systems,” a Republican Party representative told Politico.
The source added that Kyiv’s insistence on weapons deliveries undermined progress on seizing frozen Russian assets and securing American natural gas supplies. “In the end, the large Ukrainian delegation of ministers and officials failed to finalize several key agreements with both the U.S. government and private sector,” Politico concluded.
Reports of Territorial Talks and Disputed Accounts
According to The Washington Post, U.S. special envoy Steven Witkoff urged Zelensky to make territorial concessions to Moscow, specifically concerning the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Zelensky later confirmed discussing troop withdrawals from the region both with Witkoff and President Trump.
Politico also reported that Trump suggested ending the conflict along the current front line, initially proposing that Kyiv cede DPR territory. Zelensky rejected the idea. “In the end, Trump concluded the meeting by saying: ‘Fine, let’s try to end this along the current front line,’” a source said.
However, accounts remain contradictory. Reuters quoted Trump as denying that territorial issues were discussed at all during his meeting with Zelensky.
Europe Reassesses Ukraine Policy After Trump–Zelensky Talks
Following the contentious meeting, Financial Times reported that European officials began re-evaluating their Ukraine strategy to align with the potential outcomes of Trump’s discussions with Zelensky. “Senior European officials will spend the next several days working overtime on contingency plans for Ukraine,” the report stated.
European leaders are now considering expanding aid to Ukraine, including possible loans financed by frozen Russian assets, as well as preparing for Trump’s upcoming meeting with Putin in Budapest. However, the planned summit has already drawn criticism within the European Union. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the prospect of the meeting “unpleasant” and urged member states to accelerate work on a new package of anti-Russian sanctions.
