


A senior Trump adviser said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s hope of regaining Crimea isn’t a priority in peace talks being facilitated by the future Trump administration.
“And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not serious,” Republican strategist Brian Lanza told the BBC. “Crimea is gone.”
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the territory in March 2022.
Since 2022, the United States has delivered weapons and equipment worth $55.5 billion — making America the largest arms dealer to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organization. Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
Zelensky has vowed to continue fighting against Russia, but Lanza, a political adviser for Trump since his 2016 campaign, said Zelensky needs to have more “realistic vision of peace.”
“What we’re going to say to Ukraine is, you know what you see?” Lanza said. “What do you see as a realistic vision for peace. It’s not a vision for winning, but it’s a vision for peace. And let’s start having the honest conversation.”
Lanza says that unless Zelensky gets on board with the U.S. plan of achieving peace, they’ll be cut off.
“And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you’re on your own.”
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President-elect Donald Trump was joined by billionaire Elon Musk in a phone conversation with Zelensky that lasted nearly half an hour. Throughout the entire campaign, Trump has vowed that he will end the war in Ukraine, which he has deemed a major drain on United States resources.
Meanwhile, Putin has said Trump’s desire to end the war in Ukraine deserves attention.