Zelenskyy, on April 22, reiterated his opposition to recognizing Moscow’s sovereignty claims over land that Russian forces have taken from Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump castigated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 23, after the Ukrainian leader said his country would not legally recognize Russian control over Crimea.
The U.S. government recently presented a proposal to end the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.
The White House has yet to confirm details of the proposal, but Vice President JD Vance has indicated the plan would freeze the fighting along the current territorial lines.
That would, in effect, compel Ukraine to cede some of the territory it has lost to Russia since 2014.
Speaking at a press conference on April 22, Zelenskyy reiterated his position that Ukraine would not legally recognize Russia’s claims to any territory it has seized from Ukraine since 2014, including the Crimean peninsula.
Russian forces first took over Crimea in 2014.
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The move came amid an upheaval within Ukrainian society, as Russia-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country under pressure from one of the largest democratic mass protest movements in Europe.
Russian forces have continued to assert control over other areas of Ukraine since invading the country in 2022.
Zelenskyy denounced talk of giving up territory, stating: “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.”
Trump, taking to his Truth Social platform on April 23, accused the Ukrainian leader of harming peace negotiations with his recent comments.
“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it 11 years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” Trump wrote.
The U.S. government has been trying for weeks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
At times, members of the Trump administration have denounced calls for Ukraine to retake all of the territory it has lost since 2014 as unrealistic.
“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about!” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
“The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.”
A Feb. 28 White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy devolved into arguments, as Zelenskyy asked for more U.S. aid and expressed doubts about a compromise with Moscow.
In March, the U.S. government pitched a 30-day cease-fire. Ukraine voiced support for the proposal. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed an interest in the plan, but stopped short of fully backing it.
The U.S. government came around with a more limited 30-day cease-fire, meant to prevent Ukrainian and Russian forces from continuing to attack certain energy targets.
Implementing this moratorium has proved challenging, as Russia and Ukraine have accused one another of continuing attacks on the energy sector.
Last week, Trump warned he would back off efforts to mediate a cease-fire if he didn’t see progress soon.
This is a developing story and will be updated with additional details.
