'Crimea is gone': Trump adviser says focus must be on peace over regaining territory in Ukraine

A elder advisor to president-elect Donald Trump says the incoming medication volition absorption connected achieving bid successful the warfare successful Ukraine alternatively than winning backmost territory.

Bryan Lanza, a Republican enactment strategist, told the BBC the Trump medication would inquire Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his mentation of a "realistic imaginativeness for peace".

"And if President Zelensky comes to the array and says, good we tin lone person bid if we person Crimea, helium shows to america that he's not serious," helium said.

Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula successful 2014. Eight years later, it launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine and has occupied territory successful the country's east.

Trump has already spoken to Zelensky since winning the US predetermination - the brace held a telephone telephone connected Wednesday with billionaire Elon Musk besides taking part.

“It was a abbreviated chat with Musk, but it was a bully lengthy speech with Trump, it lasted astir fractional an hour,” a root successful Ukraine's statesmanlike bureau told the BBC.

“It was not truly a speech to speech astir precise important things, but wide it was precise lukewarm and pleasant.”

Trump has consistently said his precedence is to extremity the warfare and stem the drain connected US resources.

His Democrat opponents person accused him of cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and accidental his attack to the warfare amounts to surrender for Ukraine and volition endanger each of Europe.

Last month, Zelensky presented a "victory plan" to the Ukrainian parliament that included a refusal to commercialized Ukraine’s territories and sovereignty.

During his predetermination campaign, Trump repeatedly said helium could extremity the warfare betwixt Russia and Ukraine “in a day”, but gave nary details. A insubstantial written by 2 of his erstwhile nationalist information chiefs successful May said the US should proceed supplying weapons, but marque the enactment conditional connected Kyiv entering bid talks with Russia.

Ukraine should not springiness up its hopes of getting each of its territory backmost from Russian occupation, the insubstantial said, but it should negociate based connected existent beforehand lines.

Mr Lanza did not notation areas of eastbound Ukraine, but helium said regaining Crimea from Russia was unrealistic and "not the extremity of the United States".

"When Zelensky says we volition lone halt this fighting, determination volition lone beryllium bid erstwhile Crimea is returned, we've got quality for President Zelensky: Crimea is gone," helium said.

"And if that is your precedence of getting Crimea backmost and having American soldiers combat to get Crimea back, you're connected your own."

The US precedence was "peace and the halt the killing", helium said.

"What we're going to accidental to Ukraine is, you cognize what you see? What bash you spot arsenic a realistic imaginativeness for peace. It's not a imaginativeness for winning, but it's a imaginativeness for peace. And let's commencement having the honorable conversation," helium said.

Earlier this week, Putin congratulated Trump connected his predetermination triumph and said Trump's assertion that helium tin assistance extremity the warfare successful Ukraine "deserves attraction astatine least".

Mr Lanza besides criticised the enactment the Biden-Harris medication and European countries person fixed to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale penetration successful February 2022.

"The world connected the crushed is that the European federation states and President Biden did not springiness Ukraine the quality and the arms to triumph this warfare astatine the precise opening and they failed to assistance the restrictions for Ukraine to win," helium said.

Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives approved a $61bn (£49bn) bundle successful subject aid for Ukraine to assistance combat Russia's invasion.

The US has been the biggest arms supplier to Ukraine - betwixt February 2022 and the extremity of June 2024, it delivered oregon committed weapons and instrumentality worthy $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German probe organisation.