President Donald Trump accused Ukraine's leaders of showing “zero gratitude” for US efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
His comments on social media come as Ukraine and its European allies hold talks with American negotiators in Geneva over a widely leaked set of proposals seen as strongly favorable to Moscow.
During a break in negotiations with the Ukrainians, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We probably had the most productive and meaningful meeting in this entire process.” The Ukrainian Ambassador said that the parties are “moving towards a just peace.”
President Vladimir Zelensky later said he was “personally” grateful to Trump.
Earlier this week, Zelensky warned that Ukraine faces a choice: “either lose dignity or risk losing a key partner.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said the US plan could become the “foundation” of a settlement.
When Rubio met with the Ukrainians on Sunday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the Russian-Ukrainian war would never have happened with “strong and correct” leadership from the United States and Ukraine.
Shifting to capital letters, he blamed Ukraine's “leadership” for failing to thank the United States for its peace efforts.
In his post, the US President also noted that Europe, where Kyiv has some of its most loyal allies, continues to buy oil from Russia.
Moscow relies heavily on oil and gas exports to continue funding the war in Ukraine.
The Geneva talks, which include senior officials from the United States, Ukraine, Britain, France and Germany, began over dinner on Saturday and are expected to continue throughout the day in a variety of formats behind closed doors.
They are focused on a 28-point draft, the leaked version of which includes the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the part of the eastern Donetsk region they currently control and de facto Russian control of Donetsk as well as the neighboring Luhansk region in addition to the southern Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
The plan also includes freezing the borders of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions in southern Ukraine along the current battle lines. Both regions are partially occupied by Russia.
The US plan also limits the size of the Ukrainian military to 600,000, from the current 880,000.
The draft, in particular, includes a commitment by Ukraine not to seek NATO membership. Instead, Kyiv will receive “reliable security guarantees,” details of which have not been disclosed.
The document says it is “expected” that Russia will not invade its neighbors and that NATO will not expand further.
The draft also envisions Russia being “reintegrated into the global economy” by lifting sanctions and inviting Russia to rejoin the G7 group of the world's most powerful countries, making it the G8 again.
Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine, and its troops are slowly advancing along the vast front line despite reports of heavy casualties.
Before Trump's latest comments, President Zelensky said there was an understanding that the US plan could take into account “a number of elements that are based on the Ukrainian vision and are critical to Ukraine's national interests.”
Trump initially gave Ukraine until November 27 to accept the proposals.
But he then said this was not his “final proposal” for Kyiv after Ukraine’s allies in Europe, Canada and Japan raised concerns.
In a joint statement, the allies said the plan had elements “necessary for a just and lasting peace” but would “require additional work,” citing concerns about border changes and limits on the size of the Ukrainian army.
There have been reports that the European team in Geneva will propose changes to some key parts of the original US plan regarding border changes and restrictions on the size of Ukraine's armed forces.
