With Russia’s war against Ukaine approaching its fourth year, President Donald Trump had some harsh words Monday for Ukraine’s defiant president.
Painful as it might be, ending the war will likely mean accepting that the Russian military won’t be dislodged from the territorial gains it’s made in eastern Ukraine, Trump said in an interview.
It’s a proposition that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the same day.
In his interview with the Beltway news outlet Politico, Trump pointed out that Russia’s military had seized huge swaths of its neighbor’s land, with a military vastly superior in size.
“I give Ukraine a lot of … a lot of … I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that,” he said.
“But you know, at some point, size will win, generally. And this is a massive size, uh … you … when you take a look at the numbers, I mean, the numbers are just crazy.”
Trump: “[Zelensky’s] gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things. You know, when you’re losing…”
Q: “Do you think Ukraine has lost this war?”
Trump: “They’ve lost territory long before I got here…They lost a whole strip of sea front, big sea front.” pic.twitter.com/LQu9SaRNkb
— Republicans for Ukraine (@GOP4Ukraine) December 9, 2025
Trump has presented a peace plan to try to end the worst fighting in Europe since World War II. It was well-received by Russia, but Ukraine and its supporters argued it was giving too much away.
When his Politico interviewer asked if Trump had a deadline for Zelenskyy to accept his proposals, Trump was both cagey and blunt at the same time.
While dodging a definite answer, he indicated Zelenskyy was on the clock — tacitly cranking up pressure on a leader he’s sparred with more openly in the past.
“Well, he’s gonna have to get on the ball and start, uh, accepting things,” Trump said. “You know, when you’re losing, ’cause he’s losing …”
Zelenkyy, however, appears to have all but closed the door on any territorial concessions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited London, calling for unity between Europe, Ukraine and the US in negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine https://t.co/KiiYROPFYl pic.twitter.com/6ffm1xVOPI
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 8, 2025
Speaking with reporters Monday after meeting in London with leaders from Britain, France, and Germany, according to The Washington Post, Zelenskyy said he was in no position to surrender his country’s land.
“Under our laws, under international law — and under moral law — we have no right to give anything away,” he said, according to the report. “That is what we are fighting for.”
In his Politico interview, Trump reiterated his commitment to ending the fighting that started during former President Joe Biden’s administration. And he reminded his interviewer that Biden wasn’t the only Democrat at fault.
In 2014, then-President Barack Obama stood by as Putin seized the Ukrainian province of Crimea by force, and later annexed it.
“Well, and you know when this conflict really began, though?” Trump said. “It was simmering for years, but, uh, when Obama gave up Crimea, that was a big thing.”
And the present fighting should have been prevented, he said.
“This is not a war that should’ve happened. This is a war that would’ve never happened if I were president,” Trump said. “So sad. Millions of people are dead. Many, many soldiers.”
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