But on Wednesday, things went from bad to worse. Mr. Trump\u2019s defense secretary delivered a harsh assessment of Ukraine\u2019s prospects in its war with Russia. Then Mr. Trump announced that he had spoken<\/a> with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, a call Mr. Trump characterized as the opening of talks to end the war \u2014 with no clear role for Mr. Zelensky.<\/p>\n The phone call also spelled the end of American efforts to isolate Russia diplomatically after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s on his heels geopolitically,\u201d Cliff Kupchan, chairman of Eurasia Group, a risk analysis firm based in Washington, said of Mr. Zelensky.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s actions in the last two days \u2014 which also included a prisoner swap with the Kremlin<\/a> that freed an American teacher \u2014 signaled a thawing relationship between the United States and Russia that could favor Mr. Putin in a peace deal while leaving Ukraine on the sidelines. <\/p>\n Mr. Trump also called the Ukrainian leader on Wednesday, but in a social media post he did not mention how, or if, Mr. Zelensky would figure in peace talks.<\/p>\n Mr. Zelensky will meet with Mr. Vance and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, at the annual Munich Security Conference, which opens on Friday, Mr. Trump said.<\/p>\n Negotiations to end the deadliest war in Europe in generations will shape the future of Ukraine, and the recent developments mean some of its territory likely to remain under Russian occupation.<\/p>\n And they will shape Mr. Zelensky\u2019s political future. He has little choice but to go along with American-led talks despite his deep skepticism, shared by most Ukrainians, of Mr. Putin\u2019s readiness to negotiate without imposing onerous conditions or bringing more military and economic pressure to bear.<\/p>\n By Thursday morning, it was a sentiment swirling widely in Kyiv, a city now hit nightly with Russian missiles and exploding drones.<\/p>\n Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst, wrote on Facebook that Mr. Putin was most likely playing the Trump administration for time. \u201cHe is not going to compromise on ending the war, as Trump\u2019s team wants,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump wasn\u2019t the only one to deliver sobering news to Ukraine. The new U.S. secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told European allies on Wednesday that it was \u201cunrealistic\u201d for Ukraine to return to its borders as they were before Russia\u2019s military invasion began in 2014.<\/p>\n And he added that the United States did not support Ukraine\u2019s goal of joining NATO to secure any peace settlement, calling it \u201cunrealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n Territorial control in Ukraine<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Russian-backed<\/p>\n separatist<\/p>\n control<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Russia seized<\/p>\n Crimea in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t<\/p>\n \t\t Territorial control in Ukraine<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Russia seized Crimea<\/p>\n in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Russian-backed <\/p>\n separatist control<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Zelensky has played weak hands well before. In the opening days of Russia\u2019s invasion, he popped out of a bunker to film selfie videos that rallied his country, and much of the world, to Ukraine\u2019s cause.<\/p>\n Now he is again facing a pivotal moment for his country in a diminished position<\/a>, sinking in domestic polls and getting a cold shoulder from his most important ally.<\/p>\n Mr. Zelensky has twice in recent days said he is willing to negotiate with Mr. Putin if Western allies offer security guarantees in a settlement. <\/span>In his nightly address to the nation Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader was conciliatory, saying he had a \u201cgood and detailed discussion\u201d with Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discussed many aspects \u2014 diplomatic, military, economic \u2014 and President Trump informed me of what Putin had told him,\u201d he added. \u201cWe believe that America\u2019s strength is sufficient to pressure Russia and Putin into peace, together with us, together with all our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Putin, for his part, has signaled that Mr. Zelensky would need to face an election at home before Russia would accept his signature on a peace deal.<\/p>\n The demand suggests a Russian view of a potential three-step process for negotiating a settlement to the war, according to a person who has had recent conversations about settlement scenarios with senior Russian officials.<\/p>\n . It envisions an initial truce and preliminary deal, followed by elections in Ukraine and only then a binding peace settlement, said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.<\/p>\n There have been some bright spots for Ukraine. Soon after his inauguration, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Putin harshly, saying he was \u201cdestroying\u201d Russia with the war.<\/p>\n And while Mr. Trump\u2019s claim on Ukraine\u2019s minerals comes at a big cost for Kyiv, it has also been viewed by Ukrainian officials as a hopeful sign. <\/p>\n The talks on mineral rights, which began on Wednesday with a visit to Kyiv by the American Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, open a path for Mr. Trump to continue military aid while claiming to have secured a benefit for the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don\u2019t feel stupid,\u201d Mr. Trump said of Ukraine\u2019s willingness to yield its natural resources, in an interview with Fox News that aired on Monday. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019re stupid. I said to them, \u2018We have to get something. We cannot continue to pay this money.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
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