【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】In February this year, the so-called "century quarrel" in the Oval Office of the White House shocked the world. On the afternoon of October 17, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy made his third visit to the White House within eight months, meeting with U.S. President Trump. From the media reports after this meeting, it seemed "calm", but a few days later, another shocking revelation emerged.

The UK's Financial Times reported on October 19 that during the "intense meeting" a few days earlier, Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Russia's "ceasefire conditions" and warned that if Ukraine did not agree, Putin would "destroy" Ukraine, as Putin had mentioned before.

The report then cited sources who revealed that the meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents often turned into "intense arguments," with Trump "cursing repeatedly" and even "lecturing" Zelenskyy. In addition, the sources added that Trump threw the map of the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia conflict aside, insisting that Zelenskyy should "cede" the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly cited the points made by Putin during their call the day before.

The report believes that although Trump later expressed support for an immediate ceasefire along the current frontline for both sides of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, this intense meeting seems to reflect his capricious stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and his willingness to support Putin's position.

On October 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C., Ukraine's President Zelenskyy arrived at the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Trump. IC Photo

The Financial Times further reported that this meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy took place as the U.S. president was attempting a new round of efforts to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict following the recent agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire.

Zelenskyy and his team traveled to the White House hoping to persuade Trump to provide Ukraine with long-range "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, but were ultimately refused.

The report said that this tense meeting easily reminds people of another discordant meeting that took place in the White House this February, when Trump and U.S. Vice President Vance criticized Zelenskyy for lacking gratitude towards the United States.

According to several European officials who were aware of the meeting, Trump appeared to adopt Putin's words verbatim during the meeting on October 17, which contradicted his recent statements about the Russian economy's difficulties.

A European official who was aware of the meeting said that Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin explained to him that the conflict was a "special operation," not a "war," and added that Zelenskyy must reach an agreement, otherwise he would face "destruction."

This official said that Trump directly told Zelenskyy that he was losing the conflict and warned, "If (Putin) wants, he can destroy you."

Officials familiar with the meeting even described that at one point during the meeting, Trump directly threw the map of the Ukrainian battlefield aside. The official said that Trump stated he was "tired of seeing the map of the Ukrainian front line over and over again."

"This red line, I don't even know where it is, I've never been there," it was reported that Trump said at the time.

This official also said that Trump believed the Russian economy was "performing well," which contrasted sharply with his recent public comments that "Putin should negotiate because his economy is about to collapse."

Regarding the content reported by the Financial Times, citing multiple sources, the White House and the Ukrainian presidential office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

After the meeting on October 17, although no "big news" had emerged yet, CNN reported that Trump and Zelenskyy had differences on the future of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, citing multiple sources who said that the two held several hours of meetings accompanied by their senior aides, with a tense, candid atmosphere, sometimes even somewhat "embarrassing."

After the meeting, Trump flew to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he told reporters upon arrival, "I think they (Ukraine and Russia) should stop the conflict immediately. Just take the current frontline as the boundary, wherever it is now. Otherwise, things get too complicated, and you'll never solve them. You have to stop before the frontline."

"Both sides should go back home to their families and stop killing. That's how it should be," Trump added. He also stated that he had conveyed this view to the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia. On social media, Trump also posted a message strongly suggesting it was time to stop the killing and reach an agreement, saying that Ukraine and Russia should cease hostilities immediately, each declare a victory, and let history make the judgment.

On October 19, local time, Trump told Fox News that he was confident in ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict and added, "Putin will get something, he has already won some territory."

On the same day, the Washington Post cited two senior officials who revealed that Putin insisted on Ukraine completely abandoning control over the Donetsk region, listing it as one of the conditions for ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

These two officials said that compared to the conditions Putin proposed during the August summit between U.S. and Russian presidents in Anchorage, the territorial claims in this call were slightly smaller. Putin was willing to give up parts of the territories under Russian control in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine in exchange for full control over Donetsk. One of the officials said that some White House officials saw this as progress in dialogue.

Another senior European official considered it unlikely that Ukraine would accept this demand, saying, "It's like asking them to sell a leg for air."

August 15, Alaska, U.S., Trump and Putin meet. IC photo

The Financial Times noted that Trump's repeated insistence on the strong rhetoric of Putin's views during the meeting also shattered many European allies' hopes that he might be convinced to strengthen support for Kyiv. Previously, Trump had expressed frustration and impatience with Putin's refusal to engage in bilateral peace talks with Zelenskyy, which had briefly raised hope among Europeans.

Three European officials who were aware of the White House meeting also confirmed that Trump spent most of the time "lecturing" Zelenskyy during the meeting, repeating Putin's views on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and urging Zelenskyy to accept the Russian proposal.

"Zelenskyy was very depressed after the meeting," one official said. "European leaders are not optimistic, but are planning the next steps practically."

On October 19, local time, Zelenskyy issued a statement saying, "The U.S., Europe, G20 and G7 countries need to take decisive action to end this conflict."

In an interview pre-recorded by NBC on the same day (October 17), Zelenskyy insisted that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia should be frozen along the current frontline before the two sides enter peace negotiations.

"I know we must end this conflict and end it from where the soldiers are stationed and the contact line," he said: "If we want to stop this conflict and urgently conduct diplomatic peace talks, we need to stay put, not give Putin anything extra."

This article is exclusive to Observer News. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563105171660718619/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.