Crimea will stay with Russia: Trump in fresh Ukraine row

Zelensky has repeated many times during the war that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line for his country

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KYIV: President Donald Trump said in an interview published on Friday that "Crimea will stay with Russia," the latest example of the US leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege.

"Zelenskyy understands that," Trump said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "and everybody understands that it's been with them for a long time."

Trump made the comments in a Time magazine interview conducted on Tuesday. Trump has been accusing Zelensky of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Western European leaders, however, have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum.

The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options. Senior US officials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to a settlement. That could potentially mean a halt of crucial US military aid for Ukraine.