White House shifts course after official claims they 'don’t really care about Europeans'
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The White House made a quick U-turn on Thursday after announcing on Wednesday that it didn't much care what the Europeans wanted regarding Ukraine.
Politico reported Wednesday that, inside the White House, administration officials were developing a plan to be presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "fait accompli."
“What we are going to present [to Ukraine] is reasonable,” a senior White House official told reporter Dasha Burns.
"The Trump administration thinks Zelenskyy, under pressure both on the battlefield and on the home front (due to a burgeoning corruption scandal), will have to accept what’s on offer," Burns continued.
That same official told Burns: “We don’t really care about the Europeans. It’s about Ukraine accepting."
Given that Ukraine is in Eastern Europe, other countries have been involved in helping aid Ukraine after Russia invaded. Ukranians were not consulted in the drafting of the plan and was only brought into the process after meetings betwern Russia and the U.S.
Within less than 24 hours, Axios reported a significant shift in the White House's attitudes.
"The Trump administration worked Wednesday and Thursday to try to reassure Ukraine and its European allies that the plan is a 'live document' and that their positions will be taken into account," an official told the website.
The plan would require Ukraine to give a lot of concessions to Russia, including giving up much of the eastern region of the country and placing limits on the size of its military. European allies have thus far not been supportive.
