CNN reported that on April 23, US President Donald Trump harshly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling Zelensky's statement not recognizing Russia's control of the Crimean peninsula "harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia".
Such provincial statements make it extremely difficult to end the conflict. Mr. Zelensky has nothing to be proud of! The situation in Ukraine is extremely critical, or he chooses peace, or he will have to fight for another 3 years before losing the whole country" - President Donald Trump wrote an "ultimatum" on the social network Truth Social.
Trump's speech came just hours after a meeting in London, which was expected to promote peace in Ukraine, was downgraded in scale due to the sudden withdrawal of US Secretary Marco Rubio.
According to diplomatic sources, the US government believes that Mr. Rubio's participation is not an effective way to use his time.
However, Mr Trump's attacks have fueled an international arms war. In an indirect response, Mr. Zelensky affirmed on the X platform: "Ukraine will always act according to its constitution, and we believe that partners, especially the US, will also act according to the strong principles they have set out."
The Ukrainian president also re-shared the 2018 Crimea Declaration of former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which denied Russia's control of the peninsula.
The diplomatic war continues to heat up as US Vice President JD Vance said during his visit to India that Washington could withdraw from negotiations if Ukraine and Russia do not respond to the US proposal soon.
"We have made a clear proposal. Now is the time for them to say yes or the US will withdraw from this process, Mr. Vance emphasized.
The US proposal included recognizing Russia's control of Crimea and implementing a ceasefire along the current front line - something Ukraine strongly rejected. We will never legalize the occupation of Crimea, Zelensky reiterated to the press.
While the US has shown an increasingly tough stance, Ukraine's European allies such as the UK and France are still trying to resume negotiations. The meeting in London on April 23, despite being downgraded, is the next step after closed-door discussions in Paris between US, UK, French and German officials.
After US Secretary of State Rubio's withdrawal, the Trump administration has assigned two special advisers Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff to act as representatives at meetings with Ukraine and Russia. According to a US official, Witkoff is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 25.
Despite the mixed signals, both Russia and Ukraine have expressed their willingness to resume direct negotiations for the first time in years. On April 21, President Putin mentioned the possibility of holding a dialogue with Ukraine on a limited ceasefire, but it was unclear how the criteria for a "civilian target" would be defined.
