Voice of Ukraine

From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / April 24, 2025 

As the U.S. proposal to recognize Russian control of Crimea draws fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russia unleashes one of its deadliest attacks on Kyiv, killing nine and injuring dozens in a stark reminder of what “Russian peace” looks like

Summary of the Day – April 24, 2025

A diplomatic crisis erupted over the Trump administration’s seven-point peace proposal that would recognize Russia’s control of Crimea and other occupied territories—a plan swiftly rejected by Ukraine as unconstitutional. Simultaneously, Russia launched its deadliest attack on Kyiv in months, killing nine and injuring over 70 civilians, while a separate drone strike on a civilian bus in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed nine more. Ukrainian forces responded with their deepest strike in months against a Russian drone factory in Tatarstan, over 1,000 kilometers from the border. The scheduled ministerial-level peace talks in London collapsed, with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and European foreign ministers withdrawing after Ukraine’s refusal to consider territorial concessions, as the Kremlin continues deploying chemical weapons against Ukrainian positions in violation of international law.

The Deal Breaker: Trump’s Peace Plan Demands Ukrainian Territorial Concessions

The diplomatic impasse between Ukraine and the United States sharpened dramatically as details of Trump’s “final” peace proposal emerged. According to reports from Axios and The Telegraph, the U.S. plan would require Washington to formally recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea—a step never taken by any U.S. administration since Russia’s 2014 occupation—while accepting Russian control over parts of four other Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

“Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea. It is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people—there is nothing to discuss,” Zelensky declared on April 22, drawing a firm line that echoed across Ukraine’s political spectrum.

The plan represents a sharp deviation from America’s longstanding position, enshrined in the 2018 Crimea Declaration signed during Trump’s first term, which explicitly rejected Russia’s annexation. Ukrainian lawmaker Volodymyr Ariev warned that if implemented, the proposal would “set a very dangerous precedent that could plunge the world into numerous wars.”

Responding to Ukrainian resistance, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “Nobody is asking Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” This statement ignored the documented Russian military operation that seized the peninsula in 2014.

Diplomatic Downgrades: High-Level London Talks Collapse

Scheduled high-level peace talks in London disintegrated on April 23 after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff canceled their participation. Their withdrawal followed Zelensky’s rejection of the Crimea proposal, and soon after, foreign ministers from the UK, Germany, France, and Ukraine also pulled out.

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