Trump says Russia-Ukraine peace deal to have ‘some swapping of territories’ – Zelenskyy says otherwise

Even though President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet next Friday in Alaska to discuss a possible peace deal for Ukraine, trouble is already brewing on the horizon.

The trouble started this Friday when, while hosting the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a peace summit at the White House, Trump said that next Friday’s meeting will involve “some swapping of territories.”

“We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” he said, referring to the territories in Ukraine. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later, or tomorrow.”

JUST IN: President Trump says Russia and Ukraine are looking at “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” as part of peace negotiations pic.twitter.com/dbbSYVV2K2

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 8, 2025

But in a video posted to social media on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the idea of swapping any land.

“The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine,” he said. “No one will deviate from this—and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we… pic.twitter.com/JFg0rIeLzP

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 9, 2025

All this comes after Trump announced the Putin peace summit meeting on Truth Social.

“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” he wrote in a post published Friday evening.

The announcement prompted praise from hawkish Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“To those who criticize President Trump for being willing to meet with Putin to end the bloodbath in Ukraine – remember Reagan met with Gorbachev to try to end the Cold War,” he wrote on X.

“I’m confident President Trump will walk away – like Reagan – if Putin insists on a bad deal. Good luck, Mr. President, in your efforts to end this brutal war. The world should be pulling for you. I know I am,” he added

To those who criticize President Trump for being willing to meet with Putin to end the bloodbath in Ukraine – remember Reagan met with Gorbachev to try to end the Cold War.

I’m confident President Trump will walk away – like Reagan – if Putin insists on a bad deal.

Good… https://t.co/b2tAG3foCp

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 8, 2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said on Thursday in an interview with the Catholic news site ETN that the administration has “some understanding” of what the Russians want “to stop this war from a diplomatic standpoint.”

“Now, I’m not claiming that what the Russians would need and what Ukraine would need are the same,” he said. “There’s a difference, and there’s a gap there.”

“Can we bridge the gap between the Ukrainian side and the Russian side on this close enough so the president can come in as part of any sort of meeting and maybe be the closer on this deal?” he added.

Sec. Marco Rubio, on a possible meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin: “…can we bridge the gap between the Ukrainian side and the Russian side on this… so the President can come in as part of any sort of meeting and maybe be the closer on this deal.” pic.twitter.com/R3smr5wsnh

— The World Over Streaming (@WorldOverDC) August 7, 2025

Trump, for his part, has broached the prospect of a trilateral meeting between him, Putin, and Zelenskyy, but the Kremlin doesn’t seem that interested.

“[T]he Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor noted on Wednesday that the potential for such a meeting was ‘mentioned’ but ‘not discussed’” during a phone call earlier that day between Trump and Putin, according to Fox News.

“Reporting later suggested that Putin may be open to meeting face to face with Zelenskyy, but only if certain ‘conditions’ are met, though what these conditions are remains unclear,” Fox News notes.

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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