United States President Donald Trump, on Sunday, accused Ukraine’s leadership of showing “zero gratitude” for Washington’s efforts to end the war with Russia, even as negotiators from the US, Ukraine and Europe met in Geneva to push discussions on a contentious American peace proposal.
The criticism, posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform, landed moments after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signalled cautious openness to elements of the 28-point US plan, saying parts of it could incorporate “critical” Ukrainian interests.
The peace blueprint, viewed by many in Kyiv as heavily favourable to Moscow, is being debated behind closed doors in Switzerland, where delegations have been meeting since Saturday.
In his post, Trump wrote in uppercase letters, “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.”
He added, “I INHERITED A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, A WAR THAT IS A LOSER FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE SO NEEDLESSLY DIED.”
Trump has set a Thursday deadline, Thanksgiving Day in the US, for Ukraine to agree to the plan, though he has implied the date could be extended “if things are going well.”
Just minutes before Trump’s post, Zelensky announced that negotiations had reached a point where the US plan might now accommodate “a number of elements based on the Ukrainian vision.”
He stressed that Kyiv was working to ensure all components of the proposal would be “effective in achieving the main goal — to finally put an end to the bloodshed and war.”
Ukrainian, US and European delegations are holding a series of technical and political meetings in Geneva aimed at “finding workable solutions,” Zelensky said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, expressed doubt that Kyiv and Washington could bridge their differences before Trump’s deadline.
“I am sceptical a deal can be reached by Thursday,” Merz said.
“That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but we are very far from that.”
Merz insisted the priority should be drafting a document Ukraine can accept, one that could then serve as the basis for negotiations with Russia.
A senior US official told the BBC there was “a lot of momentum right now” around the Geneva talks, saying both Washington and Kyiv were optimistic.
According to the official, Sunday’s meetings were focused on ironing out difficult elements of the plan.
High-level talks are expected to follow, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, meeting with negotiators before breaking into smaller working groups.
“With each step they are getting closer,” the official said, acknowledging there were still “hard things to sort out — but they will be sorted.”
