‘I don’t care how it’s done’: Trump pressures Ukraine to cut peace deal

Against the backdrop of escalating tensions with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, United States President Donald Trump has climbed pressure on the Eastern European country to create a agreement that would end the war with Russia.

Key points

• Moments afterwards, the US president referenced a contentious Oval Office gathering he held with Zelenskyy in February 2025, shortly after returning to power.
• In August 2025, Trump invited Putin to Alaska, the Russian leader's first visit to US soil in a decade.
• On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders in Oslo, Norway, to discuss ending Russia's war.
• When asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin should meet Zelenskyy, Trump remarked there was "tremendous" hatred between the two leaders.
• According to The news agency Reuters additionally, the order came from inside the White House, citing two US authorities and a Western official.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his efforts to blame the Ukrainian president for holding up peace efforts that would bring the years-long conflict to a close.

"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 remarked as he talked concerning Russia having an "unlimited" supply of individuals to send in the fight.

Zelenskyy, Trump remarked, could have produced a "better deal" then. "He's going to have to want to make a deal, because I don't think his people are going to stand for it any longer, " Trump remarked to journalists.

In a post on social media after the session concluded, Zelenskyy stated, without providing specifics, that his country has "some clear ideas on how to get to peace".

"We are united with our European partners in this effort, and we want the Americans to take these ideas to the Russians, " Zelenskyy wrote. "One of the important ideas is to move to a potential trilateral meeting of the leaders to address the issues that only the leaders can do."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian leader continued that Witkoff would head to Russia on Wednesday, where peace discussions are anticipated to continue. "Let's see what Putin has to say, " Zelenskyy remarked.

"It's hard for them to be in the same room, " Trump remarked. "I don't care how it's done."

Trump's remarks come as the White House continues to squeeze Ukraine so as to force the country to cut a accord with Russia.

Last week, Ukrainian authorities noted slowdowns with Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite system, run by the aerospace firm SpaceX.

Ukraine relies on the technology for communications and intelligence to prevent Russian attacks.

It is unclear who ordered restrictions that limit Ukraine's access to Starshield. SpaceX CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk pointed a finger at the White House.

"Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US administration. Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS, " he wrote on October 14.

But a report in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday asserted US office-holders had blamed Musk himself for the slowdown, saying the SpaceX CEO ordered it last week. Trump and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have both denied that the administration directed the restrictions, with Hegseth pushing responsibility towards SpaceX. Building ties with Putin.

Trump, meanwhile, has sought to ease the historically tense relations between Russia and the US.

As part of a trilateral discussion on denuclearisation, more lately, Trump has expressed openness this month to gathering with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump additionally unveiled this month that he struck a accord to obtain diesel from Russia, marking a stunning reversal of years of US pressure on Moscow's economy.

Notably, the US president additionally waived new economic restrictions that would have been imposed under the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a bipartisan law he signed one month earlier, in honour of a late senator.

As well as tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil, it would have imposed sanctions on Russian authorities, banks and tankers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision on Tuesday, saying the law allowed the waiver through a provision embedded in the legislation.

"The president chose to use a national security waiver to not immediately implement those, because he recognises that these things have to be looked at in their totality, " Rubio remarked in an interview with India's News18.

Rubio argued that Trump was engaged in a "balancing act" in deciding the extent of US-imposed economic restrictions and how they could impact the rest of the world.

"When you do that pressure, sometimes it spills over and has a negative impact on other countries, " Rubio remarked.

For now, 'I don't care how it's done': Trump pressures Ukraine to cut peace remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.