Trump’s Peace Demands Leave Zelenskiy With Only Bad Options

Zelenskiy Set to Meet Trump Alongside European Allies

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By Daryna Krasnolutska and Alberto Nardelli

August 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM UTC

Updated on

August 18, 2025 at 11:05 AM UTC

Volodymyr Zelenskiy finds himself in an impossible bind: risk Donald Trump’s wrath or accept a quick deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by paying the disastrous price of ceding territory for vague security guarantees that could see Moscow come back stronger in a few years’ time.

This is the existential dilemma confronting the Ukrainian leader as he travels to Washington for talks with the US president on Monday. Fresh off a summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin that bypassed a ceasefire, Trump has left Zelenskiy little room to maneuver.