Map of Ukraine in the White House: Trump predicts “return of many territories” – at what cost
19 August 19:03
Ukraine may get back some of its land if a peace agreement with Russia is concluded. This was stated by US President Donald Trump. At the same time, he emphasized that Russia is “a much larger and more powerful country,” and the war itself should never have started.
Trump reminded of the map of Ukraine’s losses seen in the White House and actually allowed the idea of territorial compromises. Is Donald Trump really hinting at “peace in exchange for land” for Ukraine? Can the map displayed in the White House become an argument for putting pressure on the United States?
During the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American leader Donald Trump in the Oval Office, journalists noticed a large map of Ukraine located directly opposite the Resolute Desk. Its appearance caused a lot of discussion. The map showed the eastern territories of Ukraine marked in pink. These are the areas that are currently controlled by Russian troops – approximately 20% of the country.
The White House needed a map of Ukraine to show Donald Trump the extent of the Russian Federation’s advance. This was stated by military expert and former SBU officer Ivan Stupak in a commentary to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“DeepState cannot show everything in detail and accurately. And Donald Trump is probably not a big fan of gadgets. So they just printed him a big map. It even shows the percentages – how many territories Russia has managed to capture in three years,” noted Ivan Stupak.
According to him, this visualization allows the American side to better understand the real situation at the front and the scale of Russian aggression. Stupak also commented on possible scenarios that the Kremlin may propose.
“The Russian Federation will 100% play with the following scheme: they say they are ready to return to Ukraine a part of the north of Sumy or Kharkiv regions, which is only about 440 square kilometers. But in return, they will demand that Ukraine leave, for example, Donetsk region. That is, they give a minimum, but want to get the maximum. That’s all you need to know about Russia’s “proposals,” Ivan Stupak said.
At the same time, according to the expert, President Zelensky has so far rejected any idea of a “territory swap,” and Donald Trump has not yet insisted on such scenarios.
“Zelensky managed to knock this topic out of the negotiations. But this does not mean that it will not appear on the table again over time,” Stupak summarized.
Map of Ukraine in the Oval Office as pressure
A different interpretation of the map, and one of the first, was expressed by BBC correspondent Anthony Zarker. In his opinion, the map became a visual reminder for the Ukrainian delegation of the state of the war, which has been going on for almost four years.
“It was a chilling reminder to the Ukrainians in the room of the current state of affairs in this nearly four-year war, and could provide Trump with a visual way to increase pressure on Zelensky to trade territory for peace,” Zarker wrote.
However, at the time, the BBC correspondent apparently did not notice that the map was brought to the White House by the Ukrainian delegation. Therefore, the presence of the map can be interpreted as an instrument of influence on Trump, who has repeatedly raised the issue of potential “territorial compromises.”
Trump predicts Ukraine’s return of some territories through a peace deal with Russia
US President Donald Trump has said that Ukraine will be able to regain a significant part of its territories as a result of a peace agreement with the Russian Federation. He said this on FoxNews.
According to the American leader, such an agreement will allow Ukraine to “get its life back,” stop civilian deaths and regain control over “a lot of land.” At the same time, Trump noted that Russia remains a powerful military power that far exceeds Ukraine in size.
“This is a much bigger country, this is not a war that should have been started. You don’t do that – you don’t take on a country that is ten times your size,” Trump said.
When asked about a possible “exchange of territories” during his talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, the US president evaded a direct answer.
At the same time, Trump emphasized that the United States has provided Ukraine with “the best military equipment in the world,” including the Patriot system. He noted the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers who are “fighting against a much larger and, in theory, much more powerful force.”
Trump also mentioned a map of the fighting, which, according to him, demonstrates Ukraine’s significant losses in the east:
“I assume you’ve all seen the map. Most of the territory has been captured, and this territory has been captured. Now they are talking about Donbas. But Donbas, as you know, is currently 79% owned and controlled by Russia. So they understand what that means,” Donald Trump
Thus, the American president actually recognized the possibility of territorial compromises in a future peaceful settlement, leaving open the question of what format an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow could take.
Trump’s statement was resonant, as it was the first time he actually admitted that the future of Donbas could be subject to bargaining. For Kyiv, this is a signal that Washington does not rule out the “peace for land” scenario. And for Ukrainians, it is a reminder that the main battle is not only on the front line, but also in diplomatic offices, where the map of Ukraine tomorrow is decided.
