Former President Donald Trump has a plan to end the Ukraine war that revolves around pressuring the American ally to give up some of its territory to the invading Russian forces, according to a new report.
The leading Republican presidential candidate is workshopping the idea behind closed doors, which would see Ukraine give up Crimea and the Donbas border region to Moscow in exchange for a cease-fire to the war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, sources familiar with the plan told The Washington Post.
If elected Trump, who has previously touted that he could end the war within 24 hours, reportedly believes that both Russia and Ukraine “want to save face, they want a way out,” according to one source who discussed the plan with him.
The former president also believes that citizens in the occupied Ukrainian territories would be okay with being assimilated into Russia, the report said.
A Trump campaign adviser slammed the Washington Post report as “fake news,” insisting that his boss will not settle on a peace plan until he is in office and can properly weigh all the options.
“The whole thing is fake news from the Washington Post. They’re just making it up,” the advisor, Jason Miller, told The New York Post. “President Trump is the only one talking about stopping the killing. Joe Biden is talking about more killing.”
The reported plan would be a concession for the Kremlin, which had already declared plans to completely annex Crimea and the greater Donbas region, as well as the bordering lands, as part of its invasion, which began in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated that his nation would not surrender any of its land to the invading Russian forces.
Trump’s plan is also a far shift from the current administration’s goals, which seek to provide long-term support to Ukraine to defend itself against Moscow and prevent the Russian state from encroaching further into Eastern Europe.
Much of Trump’s talk on the campaign trail and with congressional Republicans regarding Ukraine revolves around resisting the Biden administration’s call to provide additional funding to Kyiv, which is still experiencing a shortage in ammunition.
Last month, Trump claimed he would need just one day to bring peace to the region if re-elected, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that it would be “easy” to negotiate a deal between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If it’s not solved, I will have it solved in 24 hours with Zelensky and with Putin, and there’s a very easy negotiation to take place, but I don’t want to tell you what it is because then I can’t use that negotiation,” Trump said, keeping all the details to himself.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that what happens in Ukraine is not a vital US strategic interest, adding that worries should be put on Europe, which he said should pay the bulk of the aid.
