Inside Trump's secret plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

81% : In a phone call with Zelensky that year that Trump said was "perfect," the U.S. president pressured Zelensky to investigate Biden and the discredited theory that Ukraine and not Russia sought to interfere with the 2016 election.
57% : Advertisement"I've been spending 100 percent of my time talking to Trump about Ukraine," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a one-time Trump critic turned ally.
54% : She added that the U.S. has limited leverage for a unilateral deal because meaningful sanctions relief would rely on European cooperation.
51% : Trump listened but was noncommittal, the person said.
50% : "Graham said he has warned against giving Russia the desired land and wants Trump to embrace a pathway forward for Ukraine to join NATO.
42% : Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who was Trump's top Russia adviser and has since emerged as a prominent critic, said it reminded her of 2017 - when unvetted foreigners and business executives approached Trump with various peace plans, and he thought he could sit down with Russia and Ukraine and mediate on the strength of his personal charisma.
40% : Out of office, Trump has pressured congressional Republicans to resist additional American support for Ukraine's war effort and a return to the White House would significantly expand his influence over the debate.
40% : "I will say certain things to each one of them that I wouldn't say to the rest of the world, and that's why I can't tell you much more than that," Trump said in a March interview with former aide Sebastian Gorka.
37% : "AdvertisementFormer president Donald Trump on March 5 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.
36% : In his eight years as the GOP's standard-bearer, Trump has led a stark shift in the party's prevailing orientation to become more skeptical of foreign intervention such as military aid to Ukraine.
36% : Orban's statement was false, but the former president didn't want to publicly contradict him after entertaining him all night at his Mar-a-Lago Club and admiring his toughness and anti-immigration positions, according to a person close to Trump, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private conversation.
34% : Privately, Trump has said that he thinks both Russia and Ukraine "want to save face, they want a way out," and that people in parts of Ukraine would be okay with being part of Russia, according to a person who has discussed the matter directly with Trump.
33% : Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post fileIn his public promises to end the war, Trump has pointedly withheld the specifics on how he would negotiate with Putin and Zelensky.
30% : " PreviousDrones attack the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to plant officials filed under: Donald Trump, russia, ukraine Related Stories Latest Articles
28% : But analysts said that realistically, Ukraine's capacity to keep fighting would be weakened if Trump succeeds in blocking further U.S. aid.
27% : Trump's proposal consists of pushing Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia, according to people who discussed it with Trump or his advisers and spoke on the condition of anonymity because those conversations were confidential.
27% : Trump has consistently complimented Putin, expressed admiration for his dictatorial rule and gone out of his way to avoid criticizing him, most recently for the death in jail of political opponent Alexei Navalny.
26% : "President Trump is the only one talking about stopping the killing.
21% : The GOP-controlled Senate later acquitted Trump.
14% : Trump has refused to acknowledge Russia's interference in the 2016 election and falsely blamed Ukraine for trying to help Democratic rival Hillary Clinton - a smear spread by Russian spy services.
13% : Reached by phone in March, Anton said he hadn't spoken with Trump in 18 to 24 months and denied knowing anything about Trump's plan for Ukraine.
12% : Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has antagonized European allies with his autocratic and pro-Russian tendencies, met with Trump last month and afterward claimed Trump told him he will force the war to end because "he will not give a penny" to help Ukraine.

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