US President Donald Trump is deeply frustrated with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While walking the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, with First Lady Melania Trump, the American leader said on Sunday, “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the peace proposal.”
Trump went on, “That was as of a few hours ago. His people love it, but he has — Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s, you know — Russia, Russia. I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it. But I’m not sure that Zelensky is fine with it. His people love it, but he hasn’t read it.”
Ukraine’s president speaks out after Trump’s red carpet appearance
Zelenskyy, on his part, shared a social media message, saying, “Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia and on the sound negotiating positions of the United States, Europe, and all our other partners.”
He added on X, “Russia must be held accountable for what it is doing – for the daily strikes, for the constant terror against our people, and for the war itself,” without mentioning anything about the peace proposal Trump was talking about in DC.
Amid the delayed peace efforts between Zelenskyy’s Ukraine and Putin’s Russia, even the POTUS’ son, Donald Trump Jr, signalled that his father may want an out from the current diplomacy scene. While the US president’s remarks were delivered right ahead of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors event on December 7, Don Jr’s warning was issued at the Doha Forum in Qatar.
Ukraine deserves a dignified peace, and whether there will be peace depends entirely on Russia – on our collective pressure on Russia and on the sound negotiating positions of the United States, Europe, and all our other partners. Russia must be held accountable for what it is… pic.twitter.com/C9pyHxUQw5
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 7, 2025
Trump to abandon Ukraine soon?
Although the US president’s eldest son doesn’t hold an official post in the administration, he eagerly spoke out about his father potentially walking away from Ukraine peace talks, as per Politico.
Amid concerns related to allegations tying senior Ukraine officials to corruption, Donald Trump Jr suggested that Zelenskyy’s country was “a far more corrupt country than Russia.” He even went on to brand the Ukrainian president “one of the great marketers of all time.”
When asked whether the POTUS was planning to abandon his post in the peace talks, Don Jr said, “I think he may,” while emphasising that it was just how he personally viewed the situation. At the same time, he noted that his father “not predictable,” so there was no way of formally knowing what he was going to do next.
Trump Jr particularly pointed the finger at Zelenskyy, as he accused the Ukrainian president of stretching out the war to stay in power. “The corrupt elites have all moved to Monaco leaving the ‘peasants’ in the country to fight the war,” he added.
In the same breath, he added, “Because of the war, and because he’s one of the great marketers of all time, Zelenskyy became a borderline deity, especially to the left, where he could do no wrong, he was beyond reproach.”
Speaking of the US tide turning against Ukraine, he contended that international leaders didn’t seem to be interested in putting an end to conflict. “The money trains have not stopped,” he said of the continued aid to Ukraine. “Americans have no appetite for writing blank checks for Ukraine or EU,” said Don Jr, adding that Republicans were no longer interested in the matter behind the scenes.
Ukraine corruption claims
Scrutiny over the issue has particularly intensified following top aide Andriy Yermak’s resignation. Just about a week ago, anti-corruption agencies raided Zelenskyy’s chief of staff. As the president’s closest advisor, Yermak indisputably held significant political influence, and even say in the peace negotiations.
US and Ukrainian officials held talks in Miami this weekend. The days-long affair started off between US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov on Thursday.
After the talks, Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna pointed out, “difficult issues remains… but both sides continue working to shape realistic and acceptable solutions,” as per CNN.
“The main challenges at this stage concern questions of territory and guarantees, and we are actively seeking optimal formats for addressing them. More details will be provided once all information is compiled.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters during his recent India visit Moscow would seize Ukraine’s Donbas region “by military or other means.”
With inputs from ANI.