In an interview, a senior advisor to Donald Trump, the newly elected U.S. President, stated that the new administration’s priority in Ukraine will be peace, not the reclaiming of occupied territories, including Crimea.
Bryan Lanza said that the Trump administration expects Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to have “a realistic vision for peace.”
Lanza emphasized that if Zelensky insists on the return of Crimea as part of negotiations, it would show that he is not serious. Lanza stated that “Crimea is gone,” and the U.S. administration’s focus will be on “peace and stopping the bloodshed,” not territorial recovery.
Lanza made it clear that a “realistic vision for peace” does not mean a victory in the war but creating a framework for peace. He suggested that if Zelensky’s priority remains reclaiming Crimea and pushing for U.S. soldiers to fight for it, Ukraine would be left on its own.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has repeatedly stated that peace cannot be achieved until all Russian forces are withdrawn from occupied territories, including Crimea. Zelensky emphasized this in his “Victory Plan” last month, which outlined his conditions for peace.
Although Russian forces failed to capture Kyiv in the early stages of the invasion, they have recently taken several villages in the eastern front. The ongoing military dynamics reflect Russia’s continued attempts to gain ground in Ukraine despite setbacks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that peace talks would require Ukraine to cede four regions that Russia has annexed, although Russia does not fully control these areas. This includes Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which were declared part of Russian territory during the height of the war.
In 2014, following a controversial referendum, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, a move widely condemned by the international community. While a few close allies of Moscow recognize the annexation, the majority of countries, including Ukraine, reject it.
As Donald Trump prepares to take office, the U.S.’s approach to the Ukraine conflict appears to be shifting toward prioritizing peace negotiations over territorial reclamation. While the conflict continues to evolve on the ground, this change in U.S. policy could impact future negotiations, especially concerning the fate of Crimea and other contested regions.
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