Trump's Yalta bid in Ukraine war raises alarm over US role in peace talks

A Yalta-style bargain

A New York Times opinion piece published on 22 October 2026 argues that Donald Trump has been searching for his own Yalta since the start of his second term. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met at Yalta in Crimea in February 1945 to outline postwar Europe, and the zones their agreements created lasted until the revolutions of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe. The columnist says such a deal would suit Trump's style, with the leaders of great powers setting terms while smaller states accept what they are given. Roosevelt did not insist on full autonomy for Poland and the Baltic republics in 1945, and Trump has made clear he would accept truncated autonomy for Ukraine.

Accusations from Kyiv and US denials

The same column notes that Trump has called for a change of president in Ukraine. According to Kyiv, the White House has restricted Ukraine's access to Starlink satellite internet and delayed deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles. US officials deny any disruption to those supplies. Over the same period, Trump has been upgrading relations with Moscow, agreeing to buy Russian diesel and exempting Russia from new sanctions. Rzeczpospolita, which summarised the New York Times piece for Polish readers, reports the same picture of Washington's pressure on Kyiv alongside its warmer dealings with Russia.

Talks, negotiators and China's place

European leaders are auditioning potential negotiators to face Vladimir Putin in talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to diplomatic sources who spoke to The Telegraph. The list of candidates was drawn up amid concerns that Trump no longer represents the Continent's best interests. Reports describe a conference of the United States, Russia and China on the sidelines of a larger summit scheduled for November 2026, which Rzeczpospolita identifies as the APEC summit. The Telegraph notes that some commentators in Russia are calling the idea the new Yalta, and one Telegraph analysis argues that a seat at the table for Beijing could have far-reaching implications. The commentary cited by Rzeczpospolita says China is now taking the place Britain once held among the world's great powers.

Russia's position and the warnings

The New York Times columnist argues that Russia is not enjoying the kind of overwhelming victory that gave the Soviet Union its leverage in 1945, and has instead experienced something much closer to defeat in Ukraine. Rzeczpospolita's summary of the same commentary says Putin is trying to turn an unwon war into diplomatic concessions that Washington cannot grant. The commentary also says Trump has damaged America's standing in Europe by imposing aggressive tariffs, threatening to annex Greenland and planning a significant cut in the US military presence on the continent. A Telegraph column calls the praise Steve Witkoff, the US peace envoy, has voiced for Putin repulsive, and says the fate of the war now rests on 2,000 sq miles of crucial territory. The columnist concludes that any framework for peace in Ukraine drawn up on this basis is destined for irrelevance.