A Ukrainian lawmaker told CBS News on Wednesday that President Trump should not engage in mediation efforts with Russia like a businesssaid the U.S. leader must “understand that he cannot trade with Putin” as the “aggressor” in the war, which is now approaching four years.
Lisa Yasko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who is a party member of President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaks to CBS News following high-level talks between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Vitkov in Moscow failed to achieve any breakthrough.
Yasko said this was largely due to Putin’s low interest in making peace.
“[Putin] In this meeting with Witkov, he smiled a lot, but it had absolutely nothing to do with peace per se,” she said. “He was interested in showing that he was geopolitically active…how cool you were, how the Americans treated you, and that you were not a war criminal. “
“President Trump may be very transactional, and in a good way,” Yasko told CBS News. “But you can’t make peace with just economic deals. You can’t go that far and please the aggressor. I believe there are some lines.”
Lisa Yasko is a member of the Ukrainian parliament and belongs to the same party as President Zelensky. / Photo credit: CBS News
Tuesday’s meeting in the Russian capital included Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and was part of a coordinated White House push to reach a deal based on a Trump administration proposal.
The proposal was originally a 28-point plan put forward by the White House a few weeks ago, but Ukraine and its European partners hesitate Call on Kyiv to cede occupied territories to Russia The draft was later revised during talks with Ukrainian and European officials.
After Tuesday’s five-hour meeting, Putin’s senior adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the conversation was “quite useful, constructive, quite substantive” but “we are still far from solving the crisis in Ukraine and there is still a lot of work to do.”
When asked by CBS News if she thought Putin continued the meeting just to buy time, Yasko said the Russian strongman’s true intentions were clear: to change the global order and establish Russia as a key power broker.
“Putin is trying to establish his new world order by assuming a central role on the world stage. [global] “Now Trump is proposing a deal that is good for the United States,” Yasko said. [the] Russian economy. This is crazy for all of us in Ukraine. “
Speaking ahead of talks in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin accused America’s European allies of blocking Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal, saying he was not seeking conflict with Europe but adding that Russia was “ready for war.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to reporters at a press conference in Moscow, Russia, on December 2, 2025. /Credit: Contributor/Getty Images
Yasko urged Trump to come and see for himself the impact of Russia’s ongoing, sweeping invasion of Ukraine and its people — something Zelensky has repeatedly urged the U.S. president to do.
“He should have been here first,” she told CBS News. “He should see what’s happening in Ukraine. He should see people’s faces and eyes.”
Yasko called the Trump administration’s original peace deal an “insult” to Ukraine.
Many European leaders have expressed concern that if Russia gets what it wants in exchange for a ceasefire in Ukraine, it would set a dangerous precedent of appeasing unilateral land grabs and could encourage Russia to increase its threats to European countries.
America’s Western European NATO allies have accused Russia of violating their airspace by using drones and fighter jets around airports and military bases. There are also allegations that Russia has carried out widespread sabotage activities targeting critical infrastructure in Europe.
Meanwhile, European leaders appear largely sidelined as the White House negotiates directly with Russia and Ukraine.
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