Did Trump said Putin “will take something, he has already taken some territory” when asked about ending the war
Executive summary
Available reporting shows President Trump has pushed a U.S. 28‑point peace proposal that would require Ukraine to cede territory and that U.S. envoys met Putin in Moscow; multiple outlets describe Trump pressing Kyiv toward concessions but none of the provided sources record an exact quote phrased “will take something, he has already taken some territory” attributed to Trump when asked about ending the war (available sources do not mention that exact quotation) [1] [2] [3].
1. What the record in these reports actually shows about Trump’s public stance
News coverage from Axios, Sky, Reuters and others documents that the Trump administration produced a 28‑point plan that would force Kyiv to give up land and cap its military, and Trump officials have argued the war must end or Ukraine will lose more territory [1] [2]. Reporters describe Trump’s team — including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — engaging with Russian interlocutors and briefing Trump after talks in Moscow [1] [3] [4].
2. Where the “Putin will take something” line fits — or doesn’t
The search results record commentary that Ukraine is likely to lose territory if the war continues and that Trump’s plan reflects that reality, but the exact sentence you asked about — “will take something, he has already taken some territory” as a direct quote from Trump in response to a question about ending the war — does not appear in the items provided. Multiple outlets summarize the thrust of Trump’s position (that ending the war may require territorial concessions), but they do not supply the verbatim line you cited (available sources do not mention that exact quotation) [1] [2] [5].
3. How outlets paraphrase Trump’s approach
Coverage frames Trump’s approach as pragmatic realpolitik: his 28‑point draft explicitly asks Ukraine to cede territory, a point critics say mirrors Putin’s demands and rewards aggression [2] [1]. Reporters and analysts in The Atlantic, TIME and The Guardian have critiqued the plan as offering “gifts” to Moscow and potentially weakening Ukraine’s bargaining position; those pieces describe the policy posture rather than quoting a short pithy line from Trump [6] [7].
4. Putin’s battlefield gains and the context journalists emphasize
Analysts and maps cited by ABC and others note Russia controls a significant portion of Ukrainian territory — reporting that Russian forces hold roughly 19% of Ukraine’s land and that Putin has secured regions like parts of Luhansk — and that those territorial realities inform diplomatic thinking [5]. Journalists point out that Moscow’s battlefield momentum has been used to strengthen its negotiating leverage at recent talks [3] [4].
5. Competing interpretations in the sources
Some sources treat the Trump effort as a genuine diplomatic push that may break a deadlock; others see it as capitulation to Russia that undermines NATO cohesion and Ukraine’s sovereignty [8] [9] [7]. Reuters and AP report cautiously about what was agreed in Moscow — the Kremlin says Putin accepted some U.S. proposals, while Putin’s aides later denied a full compromise — leaving room for competing readings of the meeting’s significance [10] [3].
6. Why misquotations or paraphrases spread in this environment
The reporting environment contains many paraphrases — descriptions that Trump’s plan “would hand swathes of land to Russia” or that Ukraine “is likely to lose even more territory” if the war continues [2] [1]. When outlets summarize policy positions in shorthand, readers can reasonably imagine a politician saying blunt lines like the one you asked about; the provided reporting, however, does not document that exact utterance (available sources do not mention that exact quotation) [1] [2].
7. What to check next if you need the verbatim line
To verify whether Trump actually used those words in a press setting, consult primary sources: the video or transcript of the press exchange in question, White House readouts, or wire services that transcribe presidential remarks. The items here are secondary reporting and policy summaries that report posture and outcomes from meetings rather than furnishing every precise quote (not found in current reporting) [10] [3].
Limitations: this analysis is constrained to the supplied search results; no source among them supplies the specific quoted sentence you asked about, though they do document Trump’s push for territorial concessions and diplomatic engagement with Putin [1] [2] [3].