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Robert A. McConnell
10/21/2025
Where is the outrage?
President Trump again reverses course and does so parroting Vladimir Putin’s arguments and propaganda – the facts be damned; the United States’ vital national security interests be damned.
Where is the outrage?
On Tuesday, various news organizations reported on what became an embarrassing and outrageous meeting between our President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last Friday.
However, as best I can tell you, on Monday, the Financial Times broke the story and provided the greatest details. That article is set out below.
Since this email was drafted, President Trump has reversed his position on meeting with President Putin in Budapest, concluding that it would be a “waste of time.” As indicated throughout this email, Putin has no interest in any deal other than a Ukrainian capitulation. Dropping the Budapest meeting is appropriate and might minimize the reminder that the last meeting in Budapest that resulted in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the conclusion that the United States’ pledge to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty was essentially meaningless.
On to the Financial Times article:
Financial Times
Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or be ‘destroyed’ by Russia
US president tossed aside maps of Ukraine front line in volatile White House meeting
Christopher Miller in Kyiv, Max Seddon in Berlin, Henry Foy in Brussels and Amy Mackinnon in Washington
Published Monday, October 20
War in Ukraine
Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or be ‘destroyed’ by Russia US president tossed aside maps of Ukraine front line in volatile White House meeting. [Apparently, having bought Putin’s version of the world unreservedly the day before, our President had no interest in anything Zelenskyy had to say, or any interest in looking at maps that surely would have put the lie to much of what Putin tells everyone. RAM]
Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday, warning that Vladimir Putin had said he would “destroy” Ukraine if it did not agree.
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian presidents descended many times into a “shouting match”, with Trump “cursing all the time”, people familiar with the matter said. [Ah, so presidential! RAM]
They added that the US president tossed aside maps of the front line in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier.
Though Trump later endorsed a freeze of the current front lines, the acrimonious meeting appeared to reflect the US president’s shifting position on the war and his willingness to endorse Putin’s maximalist demands. [Reversing positions has been our President’s consistent pattern since returning to office in January. Whenever he expresses frustration or irritation with Putin and/or expresses an intention to make Russia face consequences for its war crimes and more, he reverses his position. See the examples that follow this article. RAM]
The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy came amid a fresh push by the US president to end Russia’s war following the ceasefire secured between Israel and Hamas.
Zelenskyy and his team went to the White House hoping to persuade Trump to supply them with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, but the US president ultimately declined to do so.
The tense meeting mirrored a similarly fractious encounter at the White House in February, in which Trump and vice-president JD Vance lambasted Zelenskyy for what they characterised as a lack of gratitude towards the US. [Our President’s pattern is to vilify, attack, and demean countries and leaders who wish to be our allies and talk about his friendship with the Russian President. RAM]
During Friday’s meeting, Trump appeared to have adopted many of Putin’s talking points verbatim, even when they contradicted his own recent statements about Russia’s weaknesses, said European officials briefed on the meeting.
According to a European official with knowledge of the meeting, Trump said to Zelenskyy that Putin had told him the conflict was a “special operation, not even a war”, adding that the Ukrainian leader needed to cut a deal or face destruction. [There it is again – “a deal.” The naivete is astounding. The idea of a deal or genuine negotiations with Putin requires an abandonment of reality. Deals and negotiations mean nothing to Putin, and there is no evidence to support the opposite. RAM]
The official said that Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.” Besides Putin, who is telling and convincing our President that Ukraine is losing the war? That is certainly not what we understand from many experts here and in Europe. RAM]
At one point in the meeting, the US president threw Ukraine’s maps of the battlefield to one side, the official familiar with the encounter said. According to the official, Trump said he was “sick” of seeing the map of the front line of Ukraine again and again.
“This red line, I don’t even know where this is. I’ve never been there,” Trump said, according to the official.
Trump also said that Russia’s economy is “doing great”, the official said, in a sharp contrast to his recent public remarks in which he urged Putin to negotiate because his “economy is going to collapse”. [And in contrast to the views of experts across the globe. Putin telling our President the Russian economy is fine, is accepted, why? Because Putin is a friend? RAM]
The White House and the Ukrainian president’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Zelenskyy told reporters in comments released on Monday that “Trump wants a quick victory — an end to the war — and that would be a victory for all reasonable people.
“Putin, however, wants the total occupation of Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy confirmed that Putin had demanded of Trump that Ukraine “withdraw from the Donbas — not the entire east, but specifically the Donbas, that is, completely from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions”.
The Ukrainian leader said he had “made it clear” to Trump “that Ukraine’s stance in this context remains unchanged”.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that he was confident about securing an end to the conflict, and added that Putin was “going to take something, he’s won certain property”. [Good grief – Putin has won certain property! The world’s superpower was deterred, intimidated, and embarrassed. What Putin currently occupies, he occupies because four American administrations have done nothing to seriously deter his bad behavior. Bad behavior tolerated begets more bad behavior, and Putin will not stop his war of aggression against Ukraine, NATO, and the United States until he is stopped. He will have to be stopped, if not now, in the future at a much greater cost. Not ensuring Ukraine has what it needs to stop Putin now will be a costly strategic mistake. RAM]
Putin made a new offer to Trump on Thursday under which Ukraine would surrender the parts of the eastern Donbas region under its control in exchange for some small areas of the two southern front-line regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. [Talking simply in terms of territory is beyond reprehensible. There are people in those territories, people who Russia subjugates, women who are subject to Russia’s intentional rape campaign, indiscriminate torture, children who are abducted – discounting them as simply territory – civilized society should know better. RAM]
Zelenskyy said after Friday’s talks with Trump that he still did not understand what the Russians were actually willing to give up in those regions. “So far, there is no clear position,” he said.
The Russian proposal marks a small concession from that made during Putin’s last meeting with Trump in Alaska in August, where he said he would agree to freeze the line of contact elsewhere on the front line if Ukraine surrendered the Donbas.
That meeting also ended acrimoniously after Putin rejected Trump’s push for an immediate ceasefire and digressed at length about medieval Ukrainian history, prompting the US to explore increased support for Kyiv, including by supplying Tomahawk missiles. [Yes, well, that didn’t last long. RAM]
But ceding the remainder of the Donbas still under Ukrainian control would be a non-starter for Ukraine, as it would hand Moscow territory it has only partially occupied for more than a decade and failed to seize since Putin ordered the invasion in 2022.
Russian forces have struggled to retain the territory in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia that Putin offered in exchange, and have made virtually no progress on the battlefield there since 2022, the year the war began.
“To give [the Donbas] to Russia without a fight is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
He said that Putin might be pushing the idea “with a purpose to cause division within Ukraine and undermine our unity”.
Merezhko added: “It’s not about getting more territory for Russia; it’s about how to destroy us from within.”
Trump’s belligerent repetition of Putin’s rhetoric on Friday dashed hopes among many of Ukraine’s European allies that he could be convinced to increase support to Kyiv.
That hope had risen after Trump in recent weeks expressed frustration and impatience with the Russian president’s refusal to engage in bilateral peace negotiations with Zelenskyy. [Our President’s frustration with Putin never lasts long. I understand that heads of state need to have relations with other heads of state, but how can our President Trump call a war criminal and mass murderer a “friend”? Yet our President uses that word often. RAM]
Three other European officials briefed on the White House discussions confirmed that Trump had spent much of the meeting lecturing Zelenskyy, repeating Putin’s arguments about the conflict and urging him to accept the Russian proposal.
“Zelenskyy was very negative” following the meeting, according to one of the officials, adding that European leaders were “not optimistic but pragmatic with planning next steps”.
Nevertheless, Zelenskyy told reporters after returning from Washington: “We have moved closer to a possible end to the war.
“That doesn’t mean it will definitely end, but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East, and riding that wave he wants to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Additional reporting by Claire Jones in Washington
Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump and his administration have made statements promising pressure on or consequences for Russia and support for Ukraine in an effort to end the war, only to step back from those statements days or weeks later.
Examples:
January 22 – Statement – Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia
President Trump threatened to impose “high levels” of tariffs and sanctions on Russia if there is no deal to end the war in Ukraine.
February 7 – Step Back
The Administration announced it would disband a key initiative against Russian oligarchs called Task Force KleptoCapture, a special unit at the Department of Justice that had “restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million in assets from Russian enablers and charges more than 70 individuals for violating international sanctions and export controls levied against Russia.”
February 13 – Step Back
President Trump called for Russia’s readmission into the group (the G7) that coordinates Russia sanctions.
February 15 – Step Back
The Trump administration changed the G7’s position on Russian sanctions by withholding support for a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.
February 25 – Step Back
The United States declined to say Russia started the war and voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty [Think the U.S. promises in the Budapest Memorandum]
February 13 – Statement – Promising Kyiv a seat at the table in Russia negotiations
President Trump said that Ukraine would be involved in peace talks with Russia. “They are part of it. We would have Ukraine, and we have Russia, and we’ll have other people involved, a lot of people,” Trump said.
August 8 – Step Back
President Trump announced he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the White House pressed for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, without Ukrainian President Zelenskyy present.
March 7 – Statement – Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia
President Trump threatened to impose expanded “large scale” sanctions and tariffs on Russia until it reaches a peace agreement with Ukraine.
- “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINLA SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
March 8 – Step Back
The Trump administration rejected a G7 proposal to help crack down on opaque Russian oil exports, signaling it would not act against vessels that help Russia generate oil revenue.
March 25 – Step Back
The Trump administration reversed support for Europe’s sanctions on a Russian bank, agreeing to “help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.”
April 2 – Step Back
The Trump administration has removed sanctions on Karina Rotenberg -the wife of a close associate of President Putin.
April 7 – Step Back
President Trump notably exempted Russia from his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs but included Ukraine.
May 25 – Statement – Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia
President Trump said he would “absolutely” consider new sanctions in the aftermath of a sustained missile and drone bombardment that left many dead in Ukraine.
June 6 – Step Back
The White House urged Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to soften his sanctions bill against Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported on June 6, citing congressional staffers.
June 16 – Step Back
President Trump stated publicly that sanctions on Russia are too costly to implement.
July 8 – Statement – Sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine
President Trump voiced his frustration with Putin and promised to send 10 Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
July 21 – Step Back
Germany and the United States, as part of a US-NATO deal, agreed to deliver 5 Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, according to Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
July 14 – Statement – “Very severe Tariffs” on Russia
President Trump threatened Russia with “very severe tariffs” should it fail to reach a ceasefire deal with Ukraine within 50 days, signaling a hardened U.S. stance as the war entered a volatile new phase.
“We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the President said during a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “It’s very simple, and they’ll be at 100%.”
July 29 – Statement –
President Trump tightened the timeline on his July 14 comment and said that Russia would face tariffs “10 days from today” if Moscow did not make progress toward ending its war on Ukraine.
August 7 – Step Back
President Trump ultimately offered Putin a summit in Alaska and did not lodge any tariffs against Russia.
August 27 – Step Back
Washington’s most aggressive measure has been a 50% tariff on imports from India, imposed on August 27 in response to Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
August 7 – Statement – The condition of Putin meeting Zelenskyy before a US-Russia bilateral summit
When pushing back on Kremlin claims that a Trump-Putin summit had been set, a White House official had said Putin would also have to meet Zelenskyy for the meeting to take place.
August 7 – Step Back
Later that day, President Trump said he would hold a meeting with Russian President Putin regardless of whether the Russian leader agrees to meet with His Ukrainian counterpart.
August 13 – Statement – “Very severe consequences” prior to the Alaska summit
President Trump warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin did not agree to stop the war after the Alaska Summit.
August 15 – Step Back
President Trump emerged from the Alaska summit saying that he had changed his mind about the necessity for a ceasefire to precede a peace agreement.
September 8 – Statement – Sanctions and Tariffs on Russia
President Trump threatened tougher sanctions against Russia after its heaviest aerial bombardment on Ukraine since the war began
Asked if hi was prepared to move to the “second phase’ of punishing Moscow, Trump replied, “Yeah, I am,” but gave no details.
September 13 – Step Back
President Trump said he was ready to impose sanctions on Russia, but only if NATO countries meet certain conditions which include stopping buying Russia oil.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said he was “ready to do major sanctions on Russia” once NATO nations had “agreed, and started, to do the same thing.”
October 13 – Statement – Considering approving Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine
President Trump invited President Zelenskyy to the White House and said he was considering approving Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, and that if he provided the long-range missiles, it would mark a new level of U.S. support for Ukraine in the war.
October 16 – Step Back
President Trump had a long phone call with Putin the day before meeting with President Zelenskyy and apparently once again succumbed to Putin’s version of the world and perfected propaganda.
October 17 – Step Back
See the entire Financial Times article at the beginning of this email blast.
ROBERT MCCONNELL
Co-Founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Director of External Affairs, Friends of Ukraine Network
The introduction, paenthetical comments, and listing of Trump reversals are Mr. McConnell’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and/or the Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN).