Trump on Russo/Ukraine War: Stop at the Battle Line, Both Sides Go Home

On Friday, President Trump stopped to talk to the press briefly on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One. Also on Friday, he had met with Ukraine's President Zelensky at the White House, and had also described a phone call the previous day with Russia's President Putin.

What he had to say on the tarmac, about the Russo-Ukraine War, was interesting - and something that probably won't appeal to Ukraine.

.@POTUS: "Stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it. Stop right now at the battle line. I told that to President Zelensky. I told it to President Putin." pic.twitter.com/hjjXIx6egj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 17, 2025

The president said:

I met with President Zelensky, as you know, today, and we had a very good meeting, very cordial meeting. In my opinion, they should stop the war immediately. You go by the battle line, wherever it is, otherwise it's too complicated, you'll never be able to figure it out. You stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home. Go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it. Stop right now at the battle line. I told that to President Zelensky, I told it to President Putin. Thank you very much, everybody.

Were I speaking for Ukraine, I would point out that it's no more complicated for Russia to withdraw to the original borders, to return to the status quo ante 2022, which is likely the best outcome Ukraine can hope for right now. But how likely is that?

At present, Russia controls a large swath of eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas region, the cities of Luhansk, Horlivka, Donetsk, Melitopol, and the port city of Berdiansk. Russia has also seized some key infrastructure, such as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This is about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory, including between 3 and 3.5 million Ukrainians. And these are just the post-2022 invasion territories taken by Russia, which doesn't include Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014.

Ukraine isn't likely to go for a cease-fire in place, one that involves Ukraine surrendering a fifth of its territory. And such an arrangement would hand Tsar Vladimir I a great propaganda victory within his own country, as the Russian government would certainly spin this as a victory - and they wouldn't be wrong to do so.

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Russia isn't giving back Crimea. That's been off the table since before the 2022 invasion. The Russians will not surrender that lovely Black Sea port at Sevastopol, nor will they give up the old Soviet-era submarine base that they are reportedly refurbishing. But what President Trump is suggesting, what he claims to have told both of the leaders involved, likely won't fly either. Ukraine won't accept the surrender of that much territory. And Russia may not be inclined to stop at the current line.

Add to that the fact that the NATO nations aren't going to pour money into this thing forever.

President Trump's suggestion, unpalatable as it is to both sides, may be seen as the last sensible compromise to at least end the killing. It's as I've said, and written, for some time now; the best President Zelensky can hope for is a return to the status quo ante 2022. And the longer this thing drags on, even that seems less and less likely.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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