Trump Drops Ukraine Ceasefire Push, Backs Full Peace Accord After Putin Talks

Donald Trump on Saturday abandoned his demand for an immediate Ukraine ceasefire, instead calling for a full peace accord—just hours after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended without a breakthrough.

Before the meeting, Trump and European leaders, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, had insisted on halting hostilities, warning Moscow of “severe consequences.” But after the talks, Trump said he and allies had agreed that “the best way to end the horrific war” was a direct peace deal. “Ceasefire agreements often do not hold up,” he added on Truth Social.

The shift was seen as a win for Putin, who has long pushed for final-status talks. According to a source briefed on the meeting, Trump even backed a proposal under which Russia would fully control Donetsk and Lugansk, while freezing the frontline in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Zelensky rejected the plan, refusing to cede Donbas.

Trump also pledged U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed as “significant progress.” But EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed the summit outcome, warning that Moscow was merely “dragging out negotiations.”

Zelensky, calling the development “complicated,” said Russia’s refusal to stop its strikes cast doubt on its willingness to honor a broader peace deal. He is now set to meet Trump at the White House on Monday, with several European leaders also invited.

Trump, in a Fox News interview, put the burden on Kyiv: “It’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done.”

Meanwhile, France, Britain, and Germany will hold a Sunday video call of their “coalition of the willing” to weigh next steps, even as Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile overnight.

Putin, returning to Moscow, hailed the Alaska summit as “timely and very useful,” cautioning against “behind-the-scenes intrigues” by Ukraine and Europe that could derail “this emerging progress.”