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Donald Trump raised eyebrows on Sunday after making a striking claim about Vladimir Putin’s intentions toward Ukraine.
The comment came after a lengthy meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the pair discussed a proposed 20-point peace plan to end the war.
Both leaders agreed it had been a “great meeting” but confirmed there are still unresolved issues, such as an agreement on land concessions.
- Donald Trump claimed Russia wants Ukraine to succeed after a meeting with Zelenskyy.
- Trump and Zelenskyy discussed a 20-point peace plan.
- The peace plan includes $800 billion for reconstruction, security guarantees from U.S. and NATO, and Ukraine’s EU membership progress.
- Unresolved issues remain about land concessions, with negotiators planning to meet next week to finalize details.
Donald Trump said Russia wanted Ukraine to succeed
Image credits: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ahead of the meeting, Trump held a two-hour phone call with Putin, which appeared to lead to his eyebrow-raising comment at a press conference afterward.
“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed,” Trump said.
The comment had the Ukrainian leader tilting his head and fighting a smirk as Trump noted that it sounded a “little strange,” prompting Zelenskyy to nod his head and say, “Yeah.”
“President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding,” Trump added.
Trump: “Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.” Zelensky’s reaction is priceless pic.twitter.com/GuHgcMj6Un
— Devin Nunes’ Cattle Dog 🇺🇦 🇪🇺🇺🇸🇨🇦 (@Kaos_Vs_Control) December 29, 2025
As the president listed off apparent examples, such as supplying energy, electricity, and “other things” at “very low prices,” Zelenskyy raised his eyebrows.
Trump also described “one or two very thorny issues” that still had to be worked out at the joint press conference.
“I think the land—you’re talking about—some of that land has been taken,” he told a reporter.
“Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months—and you’re better off making a deal now.”
Image credits: Contributor/Getty Images
He also noted, “We’ve made a lot of progress today, but really we’ve made it over the last month. This is not a one-day process deal, this [is] very complicated stuff.”
At the conference, Zelenskyy said all aspects of the peace plan had been discussed and that Ukraine agreed with “90 percent” of it.
“Our meeting was excellent, we covered—somebody would say 95 percent, I don’t know what percent—but we have made a lot of progress on ending that war,” Trump said.
There are still unresolved issues in the peace plan
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
According to Reuters, under the proposed peace plan, Ukraine would have its sovereignty reaffirmed through a full non-aggression agreement with Russia, supported by a monitoring mechanism along the line of contact.
It would receive security guarantees from the U.S., NATO, and European countries, mirroring NATO’s Article 5, and maintain its armed forces at their current strength of 800,000 personnel.
While territorial concessions remain unclear and would be settled separately, the proposal wants fighting to be frozen along the current battle lines.
Ukraine would also remain a non-nuclear state, move toward European Union membership with preferential access to European markets, and progress toward a free-trade agreement with the U.S.
Image credits: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The plan proposes an $800 billion package for reconstruction, economic recovery, and humanitarian support, as well as guaranteeing Ukraine’s commercial access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
On the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Kyiv’s proposal is for a 50-50 joint enterprise involving only the U.S. and Ukraine, with Ukraine receiving half of the energy produced and the U.S. independently allocating the other half.
During Sunday’s press conference, Zelenskyy confirmed that negotiations would continue over the coming weeks.
“We agreed that our teams would meet as early as next week to finalize all discussed matters,” he wrote on X after the meeting.
Image credits: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“We also agreed with President Trump that he will host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington, D.C., in January.”
Trump also did not rule out a trip to Ukraine during negotiations but said he would prefer not to, saying, “I’d have no problem with doing it … don’t anticipate it.”
He said he “would like to get the deal done and not necessarily have to go,” but noted, “I’ve offered to go and speak to their parliament and, you know, if that would help.”
The two countries will meet again as soon as next week
Image credits: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The meeting came shortly after the Kremlin bombarded Kyiv with one of the largest combined missile and drone assaults in months overnight Saturday.
Officials said Russia fired roughly 500 drones and about 40 missiles at the Ukrainian capital, knocking out power and heat for hundreds of thousands of people during freezing winter conditions.
At least two civilians were killed, and at least 46 others were wounded, according to Reuters.
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How is it a plan if it doesn't cover land? This is an if. The war is about Russia taking land that is part of Ukraine. Any "peace plan" that doesn't come to an agreement on land is saying "If/when we agree on land, we'll do these things." But there's no plan for land, or how to come to an agreement on land, except the current plan: war.
How is it a plan if it doesn't cover land? This is an if. The war is about Russia taking land that is part of Ukraine. Any "peace plan" that doesn't come to an agreement on land is saying "If/when we agree on land, we'll do these things." But there's no plan for land, or how to come to an agreement on land, except the current plan: war.
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