Trump has the power to make Putin accept peace plan, says Ukrainian MP

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko says he doesn’t believe Russia is interested in a peace deal with Ukraine, but he hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will use his influence to make one happen anyway. 

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, and said the pair were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

But on Monday, that progress was stymied when Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northern Russia.

Zelenskyy denied the allegations, accusing Russia of lying to “undermine” the peace process and create a false pretence to attack Ukraine.

February 2026 will mark four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and 12 years since Russia occupied Crimea illegally in 2014. 

Goncharenko, an opposition MP with Ukraine’s European Solidarity party, spoke to As It Happens guest host Paul Hunter about these latest developments. Here is part of their conversation. 

Donald Trump has said that peace in the region is “closer than ever before.” Do you see it the same way? 

I hope he knows something more than I do. Because, unfortunately, I see that Russia doesn’t want any peace, and they’re just trying to win time. But I hope I’m wrong and President Trump is right. 

The U.S., through Trump, has committed to security guarantees now for up to 15 years. Volodymyr Zelenskyy would have preferred a 50-year commitment. What do you think? 

Look, better something than nothing, but definitely 15 years is not enough. This war in Ukraine is already lasting for 12 years. It’s not four years [of] war. It’s 12 years [of] war.

If we’re speaking about security guarantees, why should we limit it with some number of years? The United States has a lot of these types of agreements with Japan, with South Korea, and I’ve never heard that any of these agreements are limited by time. So I don’t know why they should be limited in case of Ukraine.

What do you think about the reliability of security guarantees, anyway, or the effectiveness of them? I mean, when it comes to boots on the ground, Ukraine has been on its own regardless until now, right?

Definitely the best security guarantees are our own armed forces. And I think after the war will finish, Ukraine will be not [an] importer of security, but [an] exporter. I think Ukraine can guarantee security to many countries in the world with our armed forces and with the battlefield experience of the 21st century. 

So, definitely, it’s quite a relative thing. But it’s better than nothing. And it’s also needed for us just to carve in stone that we, with the United States, we are allies. Definitely, Ukraine needs it. But I think the United States also needs it. 

Trump talks about … “thorny issues.” … Presumably one of them is security guarantees. The other [is] land taken by Russia in eastern Ukraine. On that, Zelenskyy’s being clear and firm…. Would Ukrainian people accept territorial concessions? 

We need to clarify what we mean by saying concessions. If we’re naming concessions as Ukraine accepting that part of our territories is Russia, then it will never happen. It’s just unacceptable. 

If we are speaking about concessions like recognizing the fact that part of our territories are controlled by Russia, that is the fact. And the Ukrainian people are ready to accept this and to say: Yes, this is illegally occupied territories. We don’t know when these territories will be returned. That’s it. That’s life. We continue to live. 

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is now alleging that both yesterday and today Ukrainian forces attempted an attack on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy denies that. What can you tell us about this?

It looks like Russia is afraid that the negotiations were really quite effective, and now they’re looking for justification why they want to continue the war. So that’s one more lie from Russia. Unfortunately, a very predictable thing.

Where does this go? I mean, you talk about the number of years it’s been going on, going back to Crimea…. Do you see an end to this? 

Maybe that will end when one country will disappear, Russia or Ukraine. Or maybe it will end tomorrow.

[As long as] Russia is an empire and, in an imperial way, looks at the world, the threat will be there — not just for Ukraine, but for the whole planet. 

Do you think Putin has any interest in a deal, in peace? I mean, Trump, after a two-hour phone call yesterday, is saying Putin is interested in at least seeing this revised 20-point plan. 

No, I don’t believe this. Putin is not interested. But I believe that President Trump … can leave no other option to Putin than to accept peace. 

But will he do this or not? I don’t know. 

You’re a member of the opposition in Ukraine. It’s sort of your job to oppose and be critical, I guess, of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What do you advise him in terms of the path forward? 

He is doing a good job abroad. He needs to continue diplomacy. We need to end this war as soon as possible. 

And then he needs not to run for president anymore. And by this, he will save his heritage as a president who protected the country in the most needed moment. But it’s time for him to leave after the war will be finished.