Trump urges Zelenskyy to make deal with Russia, warns Ukraine’s position could worsen

• Trump warns Zelenskyy that delaying peace talks could weaken Ukraine’s position

• Trump criticises US aid to Ukraine and cites casualties and tensions between Putin and Zelenskyy as barriers to peace

• US envoy Steve Witkoff prepares to visit Russia as Trump seeks the release of American prisoner Stephen Hubbard

US President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to pursue a peace agreement with Russia, warning that further delays could leave Kyiv in a weaker negotiating position as Russian forces continue advancing.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside vice-president J.D. Vance, Trump cited Russia’s larger population, battlefield gains and mounting casualties as reasons to reach a settlement.

“Russia’s a big machine. They just keep grinding forward, and that’s what they’ve done,” Trump said, claiming Moscow was steadily capturing more Ukrainian territory. His assessment was not accompanied by independently verified territorial data.

Trump warned that Ukraine could struggle to secure favourable terms if negotiations were delayed further.

“Ukraine has to want to settle this war. Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war. And if he doesn’t, I think it’s going to be a very bad thing,” he said.

The US president also argued that Zelenskyy had missed an opportunity to secure a better agreement during an earlier contentious meeting at the White House involving Trump and Vance.

“Could have made a good deal then. Could have made a much better deal then probably, possibly, that he can make now,” Trump said, without specifying what concessions Ukraine should accept.

Trump renewed his criticism of American financial and military assistance to Kyiv, saying Washington had spent hundreds of billions of dollars supporting Ukraine without receiving sufficient returns. He also suggested that European governments were growing weary of the financial burden of sustaining the war.

Citing the human cost of the conflict, Trump estimated that Russia and Ukraine had collectively lost 32,000 people during the previous month, mostly soldiers. The figure was his assessment and was not independently verified.

He attributed the difficulty of reaching a peace agreement partly to the deep hostility between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy.

“The hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy is tremendous,” Trump said, adding that the two leaders did not necessarily need to meet face-to-face to reach an agreement.

Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was preparing to travel to Russia following diplomatic discussions in Oslo aimed at advancing efforts to end the war.

In a separate development, Trump said he had personally asked Putin to release American prisoner Stephen Hubbard, indicating that Washington was pursuing the matter through direct engagement with Moscow.

“I’ve been talking to him at length. I’ve asked him to release him, let’s see what happens,” Trump said.

He suggested there could be developments within days but did not confirm any agreement or provide a timeline for Hubbard’s release.

Trump’s remarks underscore his administration’s push to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. However, key issues — including territorial disputes, Ukraine’s future security and the terms of a potential settlement — remain unresolved, with no comprehensive peace agreement announced.

With IANS inputs