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Trump 'Disappointed' in Zelenskyy, Accuses Him of Not Reading Peace Plan
Is the U.S. leader right in losing patience with his Ukrainian counterpart — or was it Russia's insistence on territory that was to blame?
Above: U.S. President Donald Trump attends the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 7, 2025. Image credit: Allison Robbert/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
The Trump administration has been working very closely with the leadership of Russia and Ukraine in the aim of finding a negotiated settlement to this conflict. However, it must be said that President Trump is quite disappointed in President Zelenskyy, who appears not to have even read the latest proposal that the U.S. had provided him.
Pro-establishment narrative
While Trump appears to have again lost his cool with Zelenskyy, blaming him for the lack of progress on peace talks moving forward, the truth is that there's no evidence that Russia has backed down on its original demands of wanting to seize Ukrainian territory, either.
Pro-Ukraine narrative
In recent days, a Ukrainian delegation held hours of substantive talks with U.S. representatives, and that team is now traveling back to Europe, where it will reconvene with President Zelenskyy. He expects to be fully briefed on the nuances before proceeding. In the meantime, Ukraine thanks its U.S. interlocutors for constructive talks, although they were not always easy.
Pro-Russia narrative
U.S. envoys carried out important and detailed talks in Moscow before meeting the Ukrainian delegation. As such, it is important for Russia to understand how talks progressed, and it looks forward to being briefed on the latest developments by U.S. officials. Russia does not intend to carry out megaphone diplomacy, so its thoughts will be shared privately, as opposed to in the media.