According to some sources collected by Bild (Germany), Kiev's leaders are preparing for one of the "worst scenarios", which is Washington ending all aid in the context of US President Donald Trump reportedly increasing pressure on Ukraine to accept a "last proposal" to resolve the conflict.
An unnamed Ukrainian diplomat said Kiev could not accept the proposals that Washington conveyed during the negotiations or What was on paper.
Meanwhile, some other officials in Kiev still hope President Trump's offensive statements are just a negotiating strategy. We still hope that is just a way for Mr. Trump to put pressure, a government source said. In this situation, Ukraine is said to be trying to renegotiate with the US, while seeking further support from its Western allies.
Previously, on April 23, Mr. Trump said that convincing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was more difficult than than Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement came after Zelensky publicly rejected a key provision in the US peace proposal, saying Ukraine would not discuss recognizing the Crimean peninsula as Russian territory.
In addition to efforts to promote a solution to the conflict, Mr. Trump is also seeking a mineral exploitation deal with Ukraine to partly offset the billions of dollars in military and financial aid that Washington has spent over the years.
The previous agreement collapsed at the last minute after the two leaders fiercely debated at the White House on February 28, 2025. After that, Mr. Trump decided to temporarily stop supplying weapons and share intelligence with Kiev.
However, on April 21, President Zelensky said Kiev was still receiving the arms that had been pledged by the previous US administration, but no new aid package had been approved since Mr Trump took office on January 20.
Regarding the recent proposal to buy patriot air defense systems made by Ukraine, President Trump has not given a clear response. However, he only commented that Mr. Zelensky had always tried to buy missiles, while asserting that Kiev was the cause of the conflict in Eastern Europe.
For its part, Russia continues to declare readiness for peace negotiations if core security requirements are met. Moscow has opposed NATO's presence in Ukraine and asked Kiev to recognize Russia's new borders as well as abandon plans to join the US-led NATO military alliance. Russia has repeatedly condemned the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine, saying that this only hinders all efforts towards sustainable peace.
The Russian government has also said it will not accept any temporary ceasefire, saying it would only lead to the risk of the conflict flare up again.
The Kremlin cited repeated violations of the ceasefire on New Year's Day by Ukraine as well as the breach of the US-intermediated agreement to stop attacking energy infrastructure as evidence that Kiev was not reliable enough.
