OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:23 AM – Monday, October 20, 2025
Behind a closed-door meeting, President Donald Trump reportedly told Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Russia’s conditions for ending the war or potentially face destruction, devolving the meeting into a “shouting match,” according to several reports.
The contentious meeting occurred during Zelensky’s visit to the White House on Friday, in which multiple reports claimed that President Trump urged Zelensky to give up territory in exchange for an end to the war, including the Donbas region, according to the Financial Times.
On Sunday, President Trump was asked whether he requested Zelensky to cede land to Russia, in which he stated, “No, we never discussed it. We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines.”
Russia currently occupies roughly two-thirds of the Donbas region which would award Moscow with the majority of the territory should Zelensky concede land to the current front lines.
“Well, he’s gonna take something. I mean, they fought and, he, uh, he has a lot a lot of property. I mean, you know … he’s won certain property,” Trump stated in a Fox News interview referencing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“It’s cut up right now, I think 78% of the land is already taken by Russia,” the president stated on Air Force One on Sunday, referencing the Donbas region.
“They should stop right now at the battle lines. … Go home, stop killing people and be done.”
Zelensky’s recent trip to the White House also included his push to receive Tomahawk missiles which would give Ukraine the ability to strike targets deep inside of Russia.
For now, President Trump reportedly rejected Zelensky’s request, opting instead to favor diplomacy, according to an Axios report citing two inside sources briefed on the meeting.
“Trump gave several strong statements during the meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional,” one of the sources told Axios. “Trump was tough.”
Zelensky reportedly pushed hard for the U.S. to agree to provide Tomahawk missiles but Trump ultimately declined, showing no flexibility on the matter.
Meanwhile, the day before Trump’s White House meeting with Zelensky, he spoke with Putin over the phone and agreed to meet the Russian leader to further discuss bringing the war to a conclusion in Budapest, Hungary.
President Trump previously suggested that Zelensky could also attend the meeting, although he may meet with the two leaders separately to “make it comfortable for everybody.”
Zelensky announced that he would accept an invitation to the meeting “if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy… then in one format or another, we will agree.”
The meeting in Budapest has yet to be scheduled, although the issue of bringing the war to a close remains a priority for the Trump administration.
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