Trump’s Truth Social post on Ukraine surprises Zelensky’s chief aide pushing for Mar-a-Lago peace deal

WASHINGTON President Trump dashed Kyiv’s hopes of a peace summit this week to end the nearly three-year war with Russia in an instant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief advisor, Andriy Yermak, was in the middle of an interview with Post on Tuesday when Trump posted on Truth Social that he was sending Army Sec. Dan Driscoll to meet Ukrainians and sending Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to continue talks for peace deal effectively slowing down his previous goal of ending the killing by Thanksgiving. Yermak had just spent the past half-hour telling The Post that he hoped the 19-point proposal to end the Russia-Ukraine war hammered out on Sunday would be adopted as a joint US-Ukraine plan, ideally with Trump and Zelensky signing the deal at Mar-a-Lago over the Thanksgiving holiday. “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages,” Trump wrote, adding “let’s all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”” Upon reading the full post, Yermak’s face dropped, apparently gutted by the news. Asked for his reaction, Yermak asked to speak again in 24 hours to assess the new reality. “It’s necessary to wait and to understand with which position Driscoll will come, and to talk with Witkoff to understand which position he is going with to Moscow,” Yermak said. “What is good with President Trump is that he can change his position very quick.” Kyiv had wanted Zelensky and Trump to meet soon not for symbolism but because every day brings more Russian missile strikes and civilian deaths, he said. “Every day it’s a risk to lose best people, children. We have no time,” Yermak said. On the table is a 19-point proposal hammered out between Washington and Kyiv officials on Sunday that Yermak had hoped could be adopted by the US as a joint peace plan for Ukraine by the end of the week and push on the Kremlin. Russia, however, had not committed and was unlikely to do so after rejecting an earlier version deal more favorable to Moscow dubbed “the 28-point plan.” The 19-point draft was and is far from final. Remaining “sensitive points” still need to be resolved directly between Trump and Zelensky something Yermak hoped they could do in a face-to-face meeting, ideally as soon as Thursday. Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis Pressed repeatedly on the plan’s glaring obstacle that Russia must agree Yermak said that only the United States has the leverage to push Moscow into a deal. “I am sure that United States of America have the lot of possibility . how to press Russia,” he said, pointing to sanctions, secondary sanctions on countries aiding Moscow, and Washington’s broader global influence. He insisted Trump, in particular, has the clout to do it. “I’m still sure that one leader in the world who can end this war . it’s President Trump,” Yermak said.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/25/world-news/trumps-truth-social-post-dashes-hopes-of-zelenskys-aide-pushing-for-mar-a-lago-peace-deal/