President Trump said he wants Ukraine to accept a sweeping U.S. deal to end its nearly four-year-old war with Russia by Thanksgiving, giving Kyiv less than a week to decide whether to agree to a draft plan that would make major concessions to Russia.
“Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time,” Trump told Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade in response to a question about whether he has given Ukraine a Thanksgiving deadline to agree to the plan. Trump suggested he may extend the deadline “if things are working well.”
Later on Friday, when asked by reporters about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s reaction to the proposal, Trump said: “He’ll have to like it. And if he doesn’t like it then, you know, they should just keep fighting.”
“At some point, he’s going to have to accept something,” Trump added.
The 28-point U.S. plan includes territorial concessions, a cap on the size of Ukraine’s active-duty military and other provisions that has previously rejected, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Zelensky acknowledged Friday the challenges facing his country. “Now is one of the most difficult moments in our history,” he said in a video address. “Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice. Either loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the U.S. plan could form the basis for a peace settlement at a meeting with his security council on Friday. The Kremlin leader said that he had received it from the Americans but that they had not yet entered into a substantive discussion about it while Trump was still securing Ukraine’s agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky necati savas/epa/shutterstock
“President Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine was discussed at the meeting in Alaska. And, in the course of that preliminary discussion, the American side asked us to make certain compromises and show some, as they said, flexibility,” Putin said. He said he had also discussed peace settlement points with international partners, including China and India, which he said were supportive.
The renewed U.S. pressure on Zelensky comes as he is facing down political tensions at home and fresh setbacks on the battlefield. A corruption investigation is focusing on members of his cabinet and other political allies.
Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy systems have left much of the country with electricity for only a few hours a day.
The Trump administration has plenty of levers it could pull to increase pressure on Zelensky to try to coax him into agreeing to the deal, such as cutting off intelligence assistance or provision of weapons.
On Friday, Zelensky held a call with the leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany to discuss peace proposals. He said that he spoke for an hour with Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the American proposal to end the war, and also had discussions with Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of NATO, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
“I will present arguments, I will convince, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy a reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace,” he said in the video address. “We are counting on European friends who understand that Russia is not far away, that it is near the borders of the EU, that Ukraine is now the only shield separating comfortable European life from Putin’s plans.”
Zelensky’s address reflected the pressure he now faces as he is squeezed between Trump, who wants a peace deal; Russia, which wants to take control of Ukraine; and Ukrainians, who are willing to fight on despite daunting odds.
A draft of the Trump administration’s 28-point plan calls for Ukraine to cede some territory now under its control to Moscow and accept Russia’s de facto control of other parts of Ukraine where the front line would be frozen.
Ukraine’s military would be capped at 600,000 personnel and its goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would be foreclosed. In addition to provisions aimed at halting the fighting, the proposal calls for Kyiv to agree to hold elections in 100 days.
The proposals seek to address many of Putin’s longstanding demands for ending the war. Many points—like Kyiv’s withdrawal from land its forces control—are at odds with longstanding Ukrainian positions.
A separate U.S. document lays out security guarantees White House officials are prepared to offer Ukraine in case Russia renews the war, including “intelligence and logistical assistance” or “other steps judged appropriate” after consultations with allies. It doesn’t commit the U.S. to provide direct military assistance, a copy of the document reviewed by the Journal shows. The guarantees would last 10 years and could be extended.
Public opinion in Ukraine has remained firmly opposed to territorial concessions throughout the war. An October survey by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology found that 71% of Ukrainians opposed transferring territory Ukraine currently controls to Russia.
Source: The Wall Street
