How Trump-Zelensky meeting turned acrimonious over demands for territorial concessions

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Last month, after meeting Zelensky in New York, Trump claimed Ukraine might be able to regain all its territory lost to Russia.
61% : The proposal, which the officials characterized as a slightly less sweeping demand than what Putin raised during his August summit with Trump in Alaska, would still amount to a major loss of territory for Ukraine.
52% : In an interview taped last week, Trump said for the war to end, Putin was “going to take something, he’s won certain property.”
50% : Trump, who would later endorse a freeze in current battle lines as part of a peace settlement, grew frustrated and raised his voice multiple times, the officials said.
50% : But now Trump is preparing for another high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, this time in Budapest.
50% : It was after a call with the Russian leader on the eve of the Zelensky meeting that Trump again insisted Kyiv must give up swaths of land for the conflict to end.
50% : Trump shrugged off the apparent reversal on Monday.
50% : Overall, the source called the meeting constructive, since Trump ultimately declared that a ceasefire be along the current frontline.
50% : Asked about the European characterization of the meeting, the White House pointed to comments Trump made Sunday on Air Force One.
50% : For Trump, ending the Russia-Ukraine war is now a top priority after he brokered a truce between Israel and Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza.
50% : In his phone call with Trump a day earlier, Putin proposed a plan where Ukraine would surrender the eastern Donbas region in exchange for some Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the European official said.
50% : Trump later arrived at the position of ending the war along the current battle lines.
50% : Trump on Sunday denied he asked Zelensky to concede the entire Donbas region, which Ukraine views as strategically important.
50% : On Monday, Trump told reporters he had asked Putin during their phone call to stop attacks on civilian areas but went on to talk about how many soldiers are dying.
50% : Trump made clear to Zelensky in a “direct and honest” conversation that — for now — the Ukrainian leader would not receive the long-range missiles that can reach far into Russia that he was seeking.
50% : One US official said Trump was under the impression that Ukraine is seeking to escalate and prolong the conflict and is worried about potential losses during an upcoming harsh winter.
50% : Trump seemed uninterested in the arguments, and forcefully insisted Ukraine agree to land concessions for the war to end, they said.
50% : Trump has told those around him that his demand for a ceasefire along current battle lines was due to the “realities of where the conflict stands,” arguing there was too much devastation and too much killing, according to one US official.

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