President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he believes the war in Ukraine will end soon — and that any settlement is likely to leave Ukraine with altered borders. "I think we're gonna have it done, and I think it's gonna happen and they're gonna end up with a little bit different shape Ukraine," Trump told CBS's "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast on Sunday. The remarks came just two days before American-brokered talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are due to open in Abu Dhabi, the first round of trilateral negotiations since February.
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| File photo: President Donald Trump. In a CBS '60 Minutes' interview broadcast on Sunday, he said he believes the war in Ukraine will end soon. (Official White House portrait) |
Trump offered no detail on which territorial changes he had in mind. But the comment immediately became the frame for a week of diplomacy that Washington hopes will finally produce a path out of a war now deep into its fifth year.
What Trump Said on 60 Minutes
Asked about the prospects for peace while keeping Ukraine free and independent, Trump said he believed a deal was within reach and that the fighting would end soon because of his direct involvement. He blamed the hatred between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the failure to reach an agreement so far.
Asked whether Putin was stringing him along, Trump replied: "Oh, I don't think so."
The interview was the latest in a series of public signals from Trump that he expects a settlement. On Thursday, he told reporters the war was close to being settled and that ending it might involve all of Europe. On November 5, after meeting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House, Trump said Washington and Moscow could reach a "big, beautiful agreement" that might extend beyond Ukraine — though he gave no indication of what concessions Russia might offer.
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| The Abu Dhabi skyline. US-brokered talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are scheduled for November 10-11 in the United Arab Emirates capital. (Gulf News photo) |
The Abu Dhabi Talks
The immediate test of that confidence comes on Tuesday and Wednesday, when delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington would bring the two sides together to discuss ending Moscow's war against Ukraine, post-war security arrangements and de-escalation measures.
The American delegation will feature Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a central figure in the administration's diplomacy. Russia's group will be led by presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, while Ukraine's delegation is expected to include Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the presidential office. It will be the first trilateral negotiating round since February.
Europe Wants a Seat at the Table
One question hanging over Abu Dhabi is who else will be in the room. The negotiations were initially organised as a trilateral process involving Washington, Kyiv and Moscow, and the Kremlin had earlier said the talks would follow that agreed format, ruling out European participation.
That position now appears to be shifting. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday that Europeans will participate in the talks this week. "The Europeans will be well represented. France will be in Abu Dhabi to take part," Barrot told French radio station RTL. "I can't tell you yet who will be representing France on this occasion, but France will certainly be there."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also said on social media that the European Union would be present in Abu Dhabi alongside its partners.
The European push reflects a longstanding anxiety: that a deal struck between Washington and Moscow could settle Ukraine's future over Kyiv's head — and over the heads of the European allies who have bankrolled much of Ukraine's defence.
The Territorial Question
At the heart of the talks is the hardest issue of all: land. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart over the terms of any settlement, particularly the future of Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow's forces.
Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four regions that Moscow illegally claimed to annex in 2022, despite never establishing full control over them. Kyiv has rejected any transfer of land and has demanded strong international security guarantees as the price of any deal. Ukraine has categorically opposed any agreement that would include recognition of territorial losses.
There has been one sign of flexibility. Zelenskyy said on October 21 that he could accept a deal freezing the front lines where they stand — a formula that would stop the fighting without formally ceding territory. Whether Moscow would accept a freeze, rather than the withdrawals it has demanded, remains untested.
Trump's "different shape" remark sits uneasily alongside those positions. He did not say whether he was describing a freeze along current lines, a formal redrawing of borders, or something else entirely. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked about the comment on Sunday, suggested Trump was probably alluding to progress on security guarantees rather than territory.
"What is the post-war security infrastructure of Ukraine and more broadly of the European continent going to look like?" Rubio told reporters. "So I think that's what the president's alluding to, is that there's been some advances made in what that architecture could look like post-conflict." Rubio added that nothing had been finalised yet, "and maybe some progress can be made in Abu Dhabi tomorrow when Jared (Kushner) and Steve (Witkoff) will be there."
The War Goes On
The diplomacy is unfolding against a backdrop of continued violence. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's energy network left hundreds of thousands of people without power on Sunday, just days before the talks. Ukraine said a Russian strike on Monday killed at least 55 people in the village of Komyshuvakha, near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The strikes are a reminder of the stakes — and of the leverage each side brings to the table. Russia has used attacks on energy infrastructure to pressure Kyiv as winter approaches; Ukraine has answered with long-range drone strikes of its own. Neither side has shown any sign of easing its military operations while the talks are prepared. Fighting often intensifies before talks, as each side tries to improve its position — but it also means the human cost continues to mount even as diplomats speak of peace.
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| File photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv in April 2025. Kyiv has rejected any deal involving recognition of territorial losses. (Reuters photo) |
What This Means
Trump's interview matters less for what it settles than for what it signals. The president is publicly attaching his name to a prediction — that the war will end soon, and that Ukraine will look different when it does. That is a gamble. If the Abu Dhabi talks produce nothing, the prediction will be thrown back at him. If they produce a deal that Kyiv sees as a surrender of its territory, the president will face accusations at home and abroad that he traded away an ally's land.
For Ukraine, the danger is clear. Zelenskyy has spent the war insisting that no deal can be imposed on Kyiv, and that territorial concessions without real security guarantees would only invite a future Russian attack. The October 21 hint that he could accept a front-line freeze was a significant concession — but it was a freeze, not a surrender of land, and it came with an expectation of guarantees.
For Russia, the calculation is different. Putin has demanded withdrawals from four regions and limits on Ukraine's military, along with a rejection of NATO membership. Those demands have not changed. Whether the Kremlin sees the Abu Dhabi round as a genuine negotiation or as an opportunity to pocket Trump's optimism while conceding nothing will become clearer by Wednesday.
What Happens Next
The Abu Dhabi talks open on Tuesday, November 10, and run through Wednesday. The agenda is deliberately broad — ending the war, post-war security pacts and de-escalation — which gives the delegations room to claim progress even if the hardest questions are deferred.
Watch for three things. First, whether the talks produce any joint statement or concrete next step, such as a ceasefire proposal or a follow-up round with a date attached. Second, whether European officials are actually in the room, and in what capacity. Third, whether either side signals movement on territory: a Russian willingness to discuss a front-line freeze, or a Ukrainian willingness to discuss anything beyond one.
For now, the president's prediction hangs over the week: a war ending soon, and a Ukraine with a "little bit different shape." By Wednesday evening, the world will know whether the talks in Abu Dhabi brought that prediction any closer — or whether it was premature.
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