January 15, 2026
By Sundance

In an interview with Reuters, President Trump was asked why the Russia/Ukraine negotiations appear to have stalled. President Trump responded with one word, “Zelenskyy.”

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WASHINGTON, Jan 14 – U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine – not Russia – is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine.

In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent.

“I think he’s ready to make a deal,” Trump said of the Russian president. “I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal.”

Asked why U.S.-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe’s largest land conflict since World War Two, Trump responded: “Zelenskiy.”

[…] Trump told Reuters he was not aware of a potential upcoming trip to Moscow by Witkoff and Kushner, which Bloomberg reported earlier on Wednesday.

Asked if he would meet Zelenskiy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week, Trump said he would but implied no plans were set. “I would – if he’s there,” Trump said. “I’m going to be there.”

Asked why he believed Zelenskiy was holding back on negotiations, Trump did not elaborate, saying only: “I just think he’s, you know, having a hard time getting there.”

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Well folks, there’s the confirmation.

What President Trump indicates in that direct response is exactly the sense that has been visible for several months.

The U.K, Germany, France and European Union have established their zero-sum position against Russia using the proxy that Zelenskyy represents. At the same time these same EU leaders are demanding that President Trump guarantee the security structures the EU is putting together. It is a ridiculous situation.

Keep in mind this is happening at the same time Zelenskyy has selected former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as the lead on his economic development team. If there was one signal Zelenskyy could send that would trigger President Trump to reevaluate everything, the appointment of Freeland was it. Donald Trump knows Chrystia Freeland.

The economic development recovery and reinvestment plan for Ukraine was in the portfolio of Jared Kushner. Kushner was also a big part of the USMCA negotiations with Mexico. Chrystia Freeland was a major antagonist in the USMCA trade deal.

The U.K, France and Germany support Zelenskyy’s position that he is not going to concede any territory to the Russian Federation, specifically the 30% of the Donbas area in Eastern Ukraine currently at the heart of the physical conflict.

The 30% issue surrounds the Donetsk region in Ukraine, which includes the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Russia is currently pushing deep into fortified Ukraine resistance in this region with a population of around 100,000. Zelenskyy claims losing this area would allow Putin to invade the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.

Historically, this Donbas area was part of a brutal long-term Ukraine civil war between the pro-Russia eastern Ukrainian citizens and the pro-EU western aligned Ukrainian army. Russia’s current position is for Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas to Russia as part of the ceasefire agreement, or Russia will continue forward conflict military operations until successful.

Seeing things through the pragmatic prism of inevitability, President Trump’s view appears to be that this Donbas area will be lost to Russia one way or the other. So, the best scenario to stop the killing is for Ukraine to give up this territory as part of the ceasefire terms. Zelenskyy, with support of the EU, France, Germany and U.K says a firm “no.”

That’s where things stand.