Trump supports Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
US President Donald Trump is backing Moscow’s demand that Ukraine hand over its most valuable territory to Russia to end the war. The Telegraph reported on Sunday (August 17). It said Putin wants full control of the mineral-rich eastern region of Donetsk, which includes parts of the greater Donbas region currently occupied by Ukraine. In return, Putin has said he will suspend the front lines of the war and not seize any more territory. Putin outlined his demands in a high-level meeting in Alaska on Friday with Trump, who will discuss the proposal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter said Putin is actually demanding that Ukraine give up Donbas. Which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. On the other hand, Trump is keen to support it. In return, US President Trump has promised Ukraine security guarantees if a peace deal is reached. Similar to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, such guarantees mean that the US and Ukraine’s European allies will be obliged to respond to future Russian aggression. Meanwhile, a Republican source close to Trump told The Telegraph that the president wants to stop the killing and end the war. That’s the bottom line. The talks on territory are part of that process. The ball is now in Zelensky’s court. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other coalition leaders will meet on Sunday ahead of the Washington summit. However, European leaders are concerned that Zelensky could reject any offer to give up land and react angrily to Trump over it, as he did in the Oval Office earlier this year. A European official said Trump wants to get it done as soon as possible and “I don’t think it will take long.” The report said Ukraine is likely to reject Putin’s terms. Zelensky has made it clear that he is not willing to negotiate the transfer of Ukrainian territory, and European governments have said that any decisions regarding land swaps should be made solely by Kiev.
