Before the attack on Kyiv, the week had seen a fraying of the already imperilled relationship between Trump and Zelensky – as the US president has suggested the need for Ukraine to make land concessions as part of a peace deal. On Wednesday, Trump claimed a deal to end the war was "very close", but that Zelensky's refusal to accept US terms "will do nothing but prolong" the conflict. Ukraine has long said it will not give up Crimea, a southern peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
On Wednesday, US Vice-President JD Vance laid out the US vision for a deal, saying it would "freeze the territorial lines […] close to where they are today", and added that Ukraine and Russia "are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own". When asked by reporters at the White House this week about whether the administration was looking to recognise Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, Trump said he just wanted to see the war end. Recognising Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea would not only be politically impossible for Zelensky to accept, it would also be contrary to post-war international legal norms that borders should not be changed by force.
"We've shown them the finish line," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday in the Oval Office, where he appeared alongside Trump and the Norwegian prime minister. "We need both of them to say yes, but what happened last night with those missile strikes should remind everybody of why this war needs to end." President Zelensky's visit to South Africa, during which he met President Cyril Ramaphosa, signalled a dramatic improvement in the once-strained relations between the two nations.
Ramaphosa said during a news briefing alongside Zelensky that he was deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He also reiterated South Africa's commitment to speaking to all parties in the conflict. He added that he had spoken to both Putin and Trump on the need to bring an end to the conflict.
Ramaphosa, in the briefing, did not go into whether Ukraine should cede territory to Russia. The US was one of Ukraine's closest allies until the re-election of Trump in November. Now Ukraine is keen to broaden its pool of international partners – particularly in Africa where many countries have strong links with Russia.
South Africa has also suffered from strained relations with Washington, which has expelled its ambassador and removed aid funding. South Africa says its non-aligned position puts it in a prime position to help bring about a peace deal with Russia.
