President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has done what few American diplomats have had the courage to do—speak the hard truth about Ukraine’s war with Russia directly to President Zelensky’s face. In a high-stakes meeting at the White House last week, Witkoff reportedly told Ukraine it must consider surrendering the last part of the Donetsk region it still holds if it wants to stop the bloodshed and reach peace with Russia.
This meeting marks a major shift in U.S. foreign policy. For years under the Biden administration, the United States poured billions of taxpayer dollars into Ukraine with no clear strategy and no path to peace. That policy failed. It dragged on the conflict, drained American resources, and pushed the U.S. dangerously close to direct war with nuclear-armed Russia. President Trump has taken a different approach—one based in realism, not emotion.
The Donetsk region, located in eastern Ukraine, has been at the center of the conflict since 2014. Most of the people there speak Russian, and many have cultural and historical ties to Russia. When the war intensified in 2022, Russia quickly took large portions of the region. Today, Ukraine controls only about one-quarter of Donetsk, and that stretch of land is heavily fortified. It’s part of what military planners call the “fortress belt”—a line of towns that helps slow Russia’s advance toward Kyiv.
But holding that land comes at a high cost. Ukrainian forces have suffered heavy losses defending it. Thousands of civilians have been killed or forced to flee. And despite years of Western support, Ukraine has not been able to push Russia back. Witkoff, who has already met five times this year with President Vladimir Putin, delivered a clear message: the war won’t end without hard choices. If Ukraine wants peace, it must be willing to give up some ground.
This is not surrender—it’s strategy. Russia, for its part, has reportedly offered to pull back from parts of the Zaporozhye and Kherson provinces it currently occupies in exchange for full control of Donetsk. That’s a major concession from Moscow and a sign that Putin may be ready to make a deal. The fact that Trump and Putin are even talking about this kind of swap shows how much the diplomatic landscape has changed since Trump returned to office.
Critics will say this amounts to appeasement. But the truth is, the Biden-era approach of endless aid and no diplomacy only made things worse. Ukraine was never going to win back every inch of territory by force—not without pulling the U.S. and NATO into a wider war. Trump is trying to avoid that outcome while still defending American interests.
What are those interests? First, the U.S. must avoid a direct military clash with Russia. That could spiral into nuclear war. Second, we must stop wasting billions of dollars we don’t have on a conflict that doesn’t directly affect our national security. Third, we need to refocus our military and intelligence resources on threats that matter more to everyday Americans—like the border crisis, Chinese aggression, and terrorism.
By pushing for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine, Trump is doing what responsible leaders have always done: looking out for the American people first. He’s not afraid to challenge the Washington war machine or the globalist media that profits from endless conflict. And with Steve Witkoff leading the talks, the U.S. finally has someone at the table who understands both business and diplomacy.
It won’t be easy. Zelensky reportedly stormed out of the meeting, and Ukraine is still pushing for more weapons. But the message is clear: the U.S. will not provide long-range missiles or escalate the war. The time has come for peace, not more fighting.
America cannot save Ukraine by destroying itself. President Trump is showing the world that strength means knowing when to fight—and when to negotiate.