Trump slams Ukraine's 'zero gratitude' as Europe scrambles to save peace framework

US President Donald Trump sharpened his criticism of Ukraine’s leadership on Sunday, saying Kyiv had shown “zero gratitude” for Washington’s efforts in the war even as US, Ukrainian and European officials gathered in Geneva to discuss a controversial American-drafted plan to end the conflict.

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump repeated his claim that the Russia-Ukraine war “would have never happened” with “strong and proper US and Ukrainian leadership,” and insisted he had inherited a war that “should have never happened.”

“Ukraine ‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia,” Trump said.

The post landed soon after talks on proposed Ukraine plan began in Switzerland. The US delegation, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met Ukrainian negotiators in what Reuters described as a “stiff atmosphere.”

PLAN TILTS TOWARDS MOSCOW

Washington’s 28-point proposal, championed by Trump, calls on Ukraine to cede territory, drastically scale down its military and formally give up ambitions of joining NATO. Trump on Friday gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to approve the document, though he later said it was not his “final offer.”

For many Ukrainians, including soldiers on the front line, such terms amount to capitulation after nearly four years of Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.

Trump has argued Zelenskyy “doesn’t have the cards” to keep fighting and must settle on terms heavily tilted in Moscow’s favour. One of the plan’s core demands is that Kyiv concede the entire eastern Donbas region — much of which remains under Ukrainian control.

“They will lose in a short period of time. You know so,” Trump said in a Fox News Radio interview Friday when asked about pressuring Ukraine to give up the territory.

CONFUSION AND PUSHBACK AMONG ALLIES

Since the plan became public, questions have swirled even in Washington. Several senators said Rubio told them the proposal resembled a “wish list of the Russians”, as per a report by the Associated Press. The State Department rejected that account as “false,” and Rubio later insisted publicly that the US did, in fact, author the plan.

European allies, meanwhile, claimed they were not consulted during the drafting stage, the Reuters reported. They have since submitted a modified version pushing back on territorial concessions and limits to Ukraine’s armed forces.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Europe’s goal was to shape a framework “acceptable to Ukraine which could be used in a negotiation with Russia,” but added he was “not yet convinced” Trump’s preferred outcome would emerge “in the next few days.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine’s borders “cannot be changed by force” and its army “cannot be left vulnerable to attack,” adding that the EU must play a central role in any peace deal.

A PERILOUS MOMENT FOR KYIV

The push for a settlement comes as Ukraine experiences one of its most vulnerable periods. Russia continues to advance, slowly but at enormous human cost, and has partially seized the strategic hub of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s commanders warn they lack the troops to repel persistent incursions.

On the home front, rolling blackouts have returned as Russia pounds power and gas infrastructure, leaving millions without heat or electricity for hours daily. Zelenskyy is also grappling with a damaging corruption scandal involving kickbacks worth $100 million, which triggered ministerial resignations and intensified political pressure.

Zelenskyy said the country now faces “perhaps the most difficult choice in its history.” In a video address, he warned that Ukraine risked “loss of dignity” or the “risk of losing a key partner” over the US plan.

Zelenskyy has not spoken to Trump since the proposal became public but expects a conversation soon. Their relationship has long been fraught: Trump’s first impeachment stemmed from a 2019 call in which he pressured Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden. Earlier this year, Trump and Vice President JD Vance ripped into Zelenskyy during an Oval Office meeting for what they considered insufficient gratitude for US aid — prompting a temporary suspension of American assistance.

And the latest “zero gratitude” tirade adds to Trump’s growing discontentment with Zelenskyy.

HOPE RESTS ON GENEVA MEET

Ukraine’s delegation in Geneva is led by Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office. He met advisers from Britain, France and Germany before starting talks with the US team, which includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, amongst others.

“We hope to iron out the final details... to draft a deal that is advantageous to them (Ukraine),” a US official told Reuters, adding that “nothing will be agreed on until the two presidents get together.”

Zelenskyy publicly welcomed the diplomatic push in Geneva, saying he hopes the talks will produce “a result.”

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday and relay the outcome to European and US partners. Putin has called the plan a “basis” for resolving the war, though Moscow may object to provisions requiring its troops to pull back from areas they currently hold.

WHAT KYIV IS UNEASY ABOUT

Beyond territorial and military demands, Trump’s plan includes clauses that analysts say echo Russian narratives about Ukraine — including calls to abolish “all discriminatory measures” in media and education and to reject “all Nazi ideology and activities.”

Military historian David Silbey said such provisions “very clearly” bolster Putin’s distorted justification for the invasion, as per AP report. Anything seen as legitimizing Moscow’s claims, he warned, would be politically toxic: “I just don’t think Zelenskyy could do this deal and look his public in the eye again.”

Despite the pressure, Ukraine has drawn some encouragement from US sanctions tightening around Russia’s oil industry and from its own long-range strikes on Russian refineries in recent weeks.

Still, the American draft, European modifications and political turmoil in Kyiv all point to a complex, fraught set of negotiations — with unpredictable consequences if talks collapse.

Trump, when asked what would happen if Zelenskyy rejects the plan, was blunt. “Then he can continue to fight his little heart out,” he told reporters Saturday.

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