President Trump proposes dividing Ukraine's Donbas region to end war with Russia
President Donald Trump stated Sunday that Ukraine’s Donbas region should be “cut up” and largely remain under Russian control to bring an end to the nearly four-year war, marking a significant shift in his approach to resolving the conflict. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump called for both nations to “stop at the battle line” and cease hostilities, despite Ukraine’s longstanding position that it will reclaim all occupied territories.
Current Battle Lines Leave Most of Donbas Under Russian Control
When asked about the future of the Donbas region, which has seen the most intense fighting, Trump said: “Let it be cut the way it is. It’s cut up right now,” adding that approximately 78 percent of the industrially significant region is already under Russian control. The president emphasized that territorial negotiations could occur “later on down the line,” but urged both sides to immediately “go home, stop fighting, stop killing people”.
Trump’s comments represent another reversal in his stance on the conflict. Last month, he had expressed confidence that Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, including Crimea and eastern regions. However, following a Thursday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a Friday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump has returned to pressing Ukraine to concede territory in exchange for peace.
Tense White House Meeting Preceded Trump’s Comments
According to multiple reports, Trump’s Friday meeting with Zelenskyy turned sour when the U.S. president insisted that Ukraine accept territorial concessions. Sources familiar with the meeting told the Financial Times that Trump urged Zelenskyy to relinquish control of the entire eastern Donbas region, echoing proposals Putin had made in their call the previous day. Trump reportedly warned that Putin threatened to “destroy” Ukraine if it refused to comply with Russia’s terms.
“Putin is something similar but stronger than Hamas,” Zelenskyy stated during a Sunday interview with NBC News, urging Trump to exert greater pressure on the Russian leader.
Despite the pressure, Ukraine succeeded in persuading Trump to advocate for a stop to hostilities along the current front lines rather than a complete surrender of Donbas. Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks, following their previous summit in Alaska on August 15, which yielded little progress.
Ukraine Strikes Major Russian Gas Facility
As Trump made his comments, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Orenburg gas processing plant, sparking a fire and forcing the facility to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan. The Orenburg plant, operated by state-owned Gazprom and located near the Kazakh border, is one of the world’s largest gas processing facilities with an annual capacity of 45 billion cubic meters.
Regional Governor Yevgeny Solntsev reported that the drone strikes set fire to a workshop at the plant and damaged part of it. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry confirmed that Gazprom notified them the plant was temporarily unable to process gas originating in Kazakhstan “due to an emergency situation following a drone attack”. The attack has forced Kazakhstan to reduce production at its Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field by 25% to 30%, according to industry sources.
Ukraine’s General Staff stated that a “large-scale fire” erupted at the facility and that one of its gas processing and purification units was damaged. Kyiv has ramped up attacks in recent months on Russian energy facilities, it says, both funding and directly fueling Moscow’s war effort.
Continued Fighting
Meanwhile, Ukrainian prosecutors claim Moscow is modifying its deadly aerial-guided bombs to strike civilians deeper in Ukraine. Kharkiv’s regional prosecutor’s office said Russia used a weapon called the UMPB-5R, which can travel up to 130 kilometers (80 miles), in an attack on the city of Lozava on Saturday.
Russia continued its strikes on other parts of Ukraine closer to the front line. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, at least 11 people were injured after Russian drones hit the Shakhtarske area, damaging at least 14 five-story buildings and a store. A Russian strike also hit a coal mine in the region, though 192 miners were brought to the surface without injury.
Contrary to Kyiv’s hopes, Trump did not commit to providing Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles following his meeting with Zelenskyy. The missiles would be the longest-range weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal and would allow it to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with precision.
Associated Press. 2025. “Trump says Ukraine’s Donbas region will have to be ‘cut up’ to end the Russian invasion.” AP News, October 19, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-gas-strikes-energy-50826ce7b96814ad943d8721c1a2915c.
Al Jazeera. 2025. “Trump calls on Russia and Ukraine to freeze war at current battle lines.” Al Jazeera, October 20, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/20/trump-calls-on-russia-and-ukraine-to-freeze-war-at-current-battle-lines.
Reuters. 2025. “Trump urged Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to make concessions.” Reuters, October 19, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-urged-zelenskiy-cut-deal-with-putin-or-risk-facing-destruction-ft-reports-2025-10-19/.
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CNN. 2025. “How Trump-Zelensky meeting turned acrimonious over territorial concessions.” CNN, October 20, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/20/politics/trump-zelensky-meeting-territorial-concessions.
Reuters. 2025. “Giant Russian gas plant suspends intake from Kazakhstan after Ukrainian drone attack.” Reuters, October 19, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-drones-cause-fire-russian-gas-plant-governor-says-2025-10-19/.