Zelensky Opposes Trump’s Plan To Freeze Russia War: New ‘Berlin’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against elements of Donald Trump’s 30-day ceasefire proposal, warning on Thursday that the issue is complex because some of the country’s occupied regions are divided by a demarcation line.

Zelensky spoke after Wednesday’s phone call with the U.S. president, during which Ukraine’s leader said Kyiv was prepared to pause attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure as an initial step toward what he hoped would lead to a “lasting peace.”

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry by email for comment.

Why It Matters

Trump has been holding talks with Moscow and Kyiv as part of his election pledge to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year. However, his efforts to broker a ceasefire have largely been unsuccessful. Zelensky’s latest remarks underscore the challenges ahead before any potential peace agreement can be reached.

What To Know

“The issue of territory will be the most difficult,” Zelensky told reporters on Thursday of a potential ceasefire and peace deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede its occupied territories—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson—and recognize Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that he annexed in 2014, as Russian. Ukraine has so far rejected the demands.

Zelensky said some towns and cities are split by a contact line, and “if in some places you leave this line, you will simply leave places or towns without life.”

“No one will return to half the city. And if somewhere it will return, if it happens to some big cities, then it will be Berlin.

“I told President Trump honestly: ‘Do we want Berlin? Do we want many such cities?'” the Ukrainian president said, referring to the division of Berlin during the Cold War.

The 96-mile-long Berlin Wall, which cut through the center of the city from 1961 to 1989, was designed to stop people fleeing from Soviet-controlled East Berlin to the West.

“[The issue of territory] will be a challenge for us, for everyone. We will defend Ukraine as much as possible in these issues. But it will be very difficult for us,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine doesn’t legally recognize any of its occupied territories as Russian.

Zelensky said he believed that he and Trump “understood each other” on the issue during their phone call on Wednesday.

“The Berlin Wall is not an option, and so we will try to manage this issue,” he added.

News outlet Semafor reported this week that Trump is considering officially recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and is encouraging the United Nations to do the same as part of a future peace settlement.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment by Newsweek.

What People Are Saying

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X (formerly Twitter): “We believe that together with America, with President Trump, and under American leadership, lasting peace can be achieved this year. One of the first steps toward fully ending the war could be ending strikes on energy and other civilian infrastructure. I supported this step, and Ukraine confirmed that we are ready to implement it.”