Volodymyr Zelensky says the pressure on Ukraine isn’t fair. The White House fired right back.

The Ukrainian president complained in an Axios interview that President Trump keeps publicly demanding concessions from Kyiv—not Moscow. He called the approach “not fair” as US-brokered peace talks collapsed in Geneva after barely two hours.

“It’s not fair that President Trump more often calls on Ukraine to compromise than Russia. I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision.”

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt wasn’t having it. She turned Zelensky’s complaint on its head.

From The Independent:

“I think the president would respond to that by saying he does not think it’s fair that thousands of Ukrainians are losing their lives and Russians, too, in this deadly war. I think the president views this entire situation as very unfair, not just for Russians and Ukrainians who have lost their lives, but also for the American people and the American taxpayer who were footing the bill for this war effort before President Trump put a stop to it.”

Talks in Geneva ended abruptly after just two hours. Zelensky acknowledged “some groundwork” was done but said “positions differ.” Translation: they’re nowhere close.

Zelensky also accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations that could already have reached the final stage.” But the White House sees it differently. From The Guardian:

“Leavitt said there had been ‘meaningful progress made’ with pledges ‘to continue to work towards a peace deal together.’ She added that Trump views the war as ‘very unfair’ for all involved, including American taxpayers.”

The contrast is stark. Zelensky wants more weapons and more time. Trump wants a deal that ends the bleeding—including the bleeding of American wallets.

From Reuters:

“Two days of peace talks in Geneva between Ukraine and Russia ended on Wednesday without a breakthrough. Zelenskyy said after the talks that ‘some groundwork’ had been done, ‘but for now the positions differ, because the negotiations were not easy.’”

The war enters its fifth year next week. American taxpayers spent over $100 billion before Trump cut off the spigot.

Fair or not, Zelensky has a choice to make. Trump’s already made his.