Trump says Ukraine cannot get Crimea, join NATO in any deal to end war with Russia

President Trump said late Sunday, ahead of his White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that Ukraine cannot recoup Crimea or join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as part of any deal to end the war with Russia.

"President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," he posted on Truth Social. "Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" 

Trump and Zelensky will also meet with European leaders at the White House.

Zelensky posted on X about an hour after Trump's post, saying how Crimea should not have been given over to Russia.

After mentioning his Monday meeting with Trump and European leaders, Zelensky said, "We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East—part of Donbas—and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine was given so called 'security guarantees' in 1994, but they didn't work. Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that both Ukraine and Russia will have to make concessions for peace.

“What it’s going to take to stop the fighting, if we’re being honest and serious here, is both sides are going to have to give, and both sides should expect to get something from this,” Rubio told CBS News.

“It’s very difficult because Ukraine obviously feels, you know, harmed, and rightfully so, because they were invaded,” he added. “And the Russian side, because they feel like they got momentum in the battlefield.”