White House accuses Zelensky of megaphone diplomacy

The US president is “frustrated” with the Ukrainian leader, who’s moving in the “wrong direction” on peace talks, Trump’s spokesperson has said

The White House has criticized Vladimir Zelensky for publicly discussing sensitive details of peace negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Zelensky publicly rejected a US proposal for territorial concessions to Russia, including the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, as part of a peace deal. According to the media, the move has angered US officials, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipping Wednesday’s talks in London with European and Ukrainian delegations.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt voiced US President Donald Trump’s frustration over Zelensky’s recent comments to the media regarding the talks.

“Unfortunately, President Zelensky has been trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press, and that’s unacceptable to the president,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt stressed that the Trump administration believes such talks should be handled in private.

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“The president’s national security team, his advisors have exuded significant time, energy and effort to try to bring this war to an end,” she stated. “The American taxpayer has funded billions of dollars in this effort and enough is enough.”

The remarks signal growing impatience within Trump’s team over what it sees as an unproductive public discourse surrounding peace efforts. “The president… is frustrated. His patience is running very thin. He wants to do what’s right for the world. He wants to see peace, and unfortunately President Zelensky seems to be moving in the wrong direction,” Leavitt said.

The spokesperson clarified that Trump is not demanding Ukraine recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea, but is instead calling for realistic dialogue. “What he is asking is for people to come to the negotiating table recognizing that this has been a brutal war for far too long.”

She concluded by emphasizing the need for compromise in any future peace deal. “In order to make a good deal, both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt said.