Trump Says 'I Don't Care How It's Done' on Ukraine Peace Deal as Witkoff Is Due in Russia

Since Witkoff met Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo on Oct. 20, the dispute over who is holding up a Ukraine deal has moved to the Oval Office, where Trump put the burden on Kyiv again and said he does not care how a settlement gets done.

"Zelenskyy has to want to settle this war, and if he doesn't, I think it's going to be a very bad thing," Trump told reporters Tuesday. He added that Russia has "an unlimited supply of people" and "just keeps grinding forward."

Asked whether Putin and Zelenskyy would have to sit in the same room to sign anything, Trump said the hatred between them is "tremendous." "It's hard for them to be in the same room," he said. "I don't care how it's done."

Trump on money and the February 2025 meeting

Trump said the European Union has "quite a bit of money," but that "they're getting tired of spending it." He said the United States has "spent a fortune" on Ukraine and has "got nothing back, other than high diesel" prices.

He also returned to his February 2025 Oval Office clash with Zelenskyy, saying Kyiv could have gotten a "better deal" then. "I don't think his people are going to stand for it any longer," Trump said.

That is consistent with what he said in a Newsmax interview aired Oct. 15, when he said a settlement would not come while Zelenskyy is in office. "He says he wants to settle, but he doesn't," Trump said. In the same interview he criticized Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel refineries, saying they raise world oil prices.

What Zelenskyy asked for in Oslo

After the Oslo meeting, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has "some clear ideas on how to get to peace" and wants the Americans to carry them to Moscow. He did not give specifics. One idea he named is a trilateral leaders' meeting to handle issues "that only the leaders can do."

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said "genuine progress" was made on proposals. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Europe "needs to be at the table" and that Witkoff is set to travel to St. Petersburg to present the Oslo proposals to Russian leadership.

Zelenskyy said he expects results within 48 hours on Patriot interceptors, intelligence sharing and Starlink restrictions. "Let's see what Putin has to say," he wrote.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the Kremlin will listen to what Witkoff offers but has ruled out "any political concessions."

Intelligence sharing and Starshield

Zelenskyy said after Oslo that U.S. early warning of Russian ballistic missiles is working again: "Now it works." Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected the premise. "There's been no pause," he said, and he called Kyiv's accusation that Washington was withholding intelligence "scandalous." Rubio also said Zelenskyy should focus on "bringing an end to this war."

The two accounts conflict, and neither government has produced records settling it. Zelenskyy's claim that the system now works and Rubio's claim that it never stopped cannot both describe a gap.

A separate dispute is about Starshield, the military version of SpaceX's Starlink that Ukraine uses for communications and intelligence. Ukrainian officials reported slowdowns last week. Elon Musk wrote on Oct. 14 that Starshield is "owned and controlled by the US government" and that any limits are decided by the U.S. military "and ultimately POTUS." Reuters reported, citing two U.S. officials and a Western official, that the order came from inside the White House. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that U.S. officials blame Musk himself for ordering the slowdown last week. Nobody has publicly resolved who gave the order.

The argument that the onus is on Moscow

Not everyone accepts Trump's framing. Fox News Radio host Guy Benson said it is odd to build the argument around what Ukrainians should have done, since "the Russians are the aggressors" and the onus for ending the war "has to lie with Moscow." Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Teichert, his guest, said Putin "started this war of aggression five years ago" and "is the only one who can stop it." He cited near-daily strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets and the abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children.

Zelenskyy made a similar point after an Oct. 12 strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which came a day after Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" that Trump said followed his Oct. 9 call with Putin. "It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side," Zelenskyy said. Asked whether he felt betrayed, he answered: "Really, yes ... but it's a little bit more complicated than just my emotions."

The war continues

Russian drone attacks went on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials said at least 10 people were killed: four in Kyiv and the surrounding region, four in Donetsk, and two in Dnipro.

Hubbard

Trump also said he has been talking "at length" with Putin about Stephen Hubbard, the retired American teacher a Russian court sentenced in October 2024 to nearly seven years for serving as a mercenary for Ukraine. "I'd love to get him back. It's time," Trump said. He declined to say whether a deal is close but told the reporter to "remember that question for a couple of days from now."

What comes next

Witkoff is due in Russia today, Oct. 21. Zelenskyy's own deadline for answers on air defense, intelligence and Starlink falls within roughly 48 hours of the Oslo talks. Lavrov's no-concessions line is already on the record, and no one has said whether Putin will entertain the trilateral leaders' meeting Kyiv is asking for.