- Trump said the United States was giving Kyiv a week to accept the peace plan.
- Zelensky and the Europeans are working on a counterproposal, sources say.
- Putin says he has received the American plan and that it must be discussed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Friday that Ukraine risks losing its dignity and freedom — or Washington’s support — over a U.S. peace plan that backs key Russian demands, a proposal Donald Trump said kyiv should accept within a week.
The US president told Fox News Radio that he believed Thursday was an appropriate deadline for kyiv to accept the plan, confirming what two sources told Reuters.
Trump later told reporters that time was running out, given the approach of winter and the need to end the bloodshed, and that Zelensky would have to approve the plan.
“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” he said.
“At some point he’s going to have to accept something that he didn’t accept,” Trump said.
Recalling his eventful meeting with Zelensky in February, Trump added: “You remember, in the Oval Office, not long ago, I said, ‘You don’t hold the cards.'”
Washington’s 28-point plan calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept the limits of its military and abandon its ambitions to join NATO. It also contains some proposals that Moscow may oppose and requires its forces to withdraw from some areas they have captured, according to a draft seen by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has previously refused to concede on Russia’s key territorial and security demands, said Friday that the U.S. plan could form the basis for a definitive resolution to a nearly four-year-old conflict. He said kyiv was against the plan, but neither it nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.
“Dignity and freedom for Ukrainians”
Zelensky, who has rejected the terms of the plan in the past as capitulation, called on Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.
“Now Ukraine faces a very difficult choice: either lose its dignity or risk losing a major partner,” he said in a speech to the nation, adding: “I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points of the plan are not neglected: the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”
Two sources told Reuters that Washington had threatened to suspend intelligence sharing and arms supplies to Ukraine if it did not accept the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the contents of private meetings.
A senior U.S. official later said it was not accurate to say the United States was threatening to withhold intelligence.
In public, Zelensky has been careful not to reject the US plan or offend Americans.
He met on Friday with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France, then with US Vice President JD Vance. He said he agreed with Vance that their advisers should work “to find a viable path to peace.”
“We appreciate the efforts of the United States, President Trump and his team to end this war,” Zelensky said. “We are working on the document prepared by the American side. It must be a plan that guarantees real and dignified peace.”
A bad deal for Ukraine could test the stability of its society after nearly four years of bitter war.
“Russia gets everything it wants and Ukraine doesn’t get much,” said Tim Ash of the British think tank Chatham House. “If Zelensky agrees to this, I expect enormous political, social and economic instability in Ukraine.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X that he had “a good confidential telephone conversation” with Trump on Friday evening about the peace plan. They “agreed on the next steps at advisor level,” he said.
This project is expected to dominate discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg attended by European leaders this weekend, despite Trump’s boycott.
“A very dangerous moment”
Three sources told Reuters that Ukraine was working on a counter-proposal to the 28-point plan with Britain, France and Germany. The Europeans were not consulted on the American project and expressed strong support for kyiv.
“We all want this war to end, but how it ends is important. Russia has no legal right to concessions from the country it invaded,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. “This is a very dangerous time for everyone.”
U.S. officials said their plan was developed after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, a close Zelensky ally who served as defense minister until July.
Umerov “accepted the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelensky,” a senior US official said on Thursday.
However, Umerov denied agreeing to the terms of the plan and said he only played a technical role in organizing the talks.
Russia’s demands are stated, the Kyiv left remains vague
The plan would require Ukraine to withdraw from territories it still controls in the eastern provinces that Russia claims to have annexed, while Russia would give up smaller amounts of land it holds in other regions.
Ukraine would be permanently banned from joining the NATO military alliance and its armed forces would be limited to 600,000 troops. NATO would agree to never station troops there.
Sanctions against Russia would be gradually lifted, Moscow would be invited back into the G8 group of industrialized countries and frozen Russian assets would be pooled into an investment fund, with Washington returning part of the profits.
One of Ukraine’s main demands, enforceable guarantees equivalent to NATO’s mutual defense clause to deter Russia from further attacks, is formulated in a single line, without any details: “Ukraine will receive strong security guarantees.”
