President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Friday that Ukraine faced a stark crossroads as Washington pushed a peace plan that would require Kyiv to surrender territory and accept limits on its future security. The proposal, backed strongly by U.S. President Donald Trump, included several concessions that Moscow has long demanded.
Zelenskiy said the proposal risked forcing Ukraine to choose between “losing dignity” or jeopardising its partnership with Washington. His remarks came after Trump confirmed that he wanted Kyiv to endorse the plan within days.
During an interview with Fox News Radio, Trump said Thursday had been a suitable deadline for Ukraine to accept the terms, later telling reporters that Zelenskiy “will have to approve the plan”. He added, “If he doesn’t like it, then… they should just keep fighting, I guess.”
Trump said the approaching winter made a deal urgent. Recalling a tense meeting with Zelenskiy in February, he told reporters: “You don’t have the cards.”
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Washington’s draft proposal, described to Reuters by several sources, includes a requirement for Ukraine to cede territory, accept caps on its military and abandon its long-standing ambition to join NATO. The plan also demands that Russian forces pull back from some captured areas, though not from regions Moscow claims to have annexed.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance later argued that further Western military support would not change the reality on the ground. “There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he wrote on X.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the U.S. plan could serve as the basis for a political settlement. He claimed Ukraine and its European allies were ignoring Russia’s battlefield gains.
Zelenskiy has dismissed the proposal’s main conditions as unacceptable in the past, but in his address to the country he avoided openly rejecting the U.S. draft. “Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice,” he said. “I will fight twenty four seven to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked, the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”
Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said the plan aimed to stop further loss of life. He wrote on X that critics were overlooking that the proposal’s purpose was “to save Ukraine from losing even more land and lives”.
Reuters reported that Washington had privately warned Kyiv it could restrict intelligence sharing and weapons supplies if Ukraine refused to engage with the plan. A senior U.S. official later disputed that characterisation.
Zelenskiy spoke on Friday with leaders of Britain, Germany and France, as well as with Vance, and publicly emphasised gratitude for Washington’s efforts. “This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace,” he said.
The issue is expected to dominate conversations on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, where European leaders have pledged support for Kyiv even as Trump is boycotting the gathering.