US president Donald Trump has issued Ukraine a stark warning to agree to his peace proposal within days.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of “one of the most difficult moments in our history” on Friday as he considers a 28 point, US-brokered plan that appears to heavily favour Russia. Ukraine would have to cede land, agree not to join Nato and accept limits on the size of its military – while Russia would be welcomed back into the international community.
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in a bleak address to the nation, vowing he would not betray his country.
The US has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine to pressure it into agreeing to the framework, according to Reuters sources.
Trump confirmed he had given Ukraine until next Thursday – US Thanksgiving – to agree to the deal.
“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” he told Fox News Radio. “But Thursday we think is an appropriate time.”
The Kremlin urged Ukraine to negotiate “now” or risk losing more territory, claiming that thousands of Ukrainian troops were trapped in Kharkiv amid a Russian advance in the east.
“The space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while claiming Moscow is yet to receive anything official from the US on the actual proposition.
European leaders have raised concerns about the plans, that were drawn up without their involvement.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe,” said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. “We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. This is a very dangerous moment for all.”
A joint statement from UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz said any agreement “would have to fully imply Ukraine, preserve its sovereignty and guarantee its future security”.
The Trump plan would see the United States take responsibility for unspecified security guarantees, a major sticking point for Kyiv around ending the war. One of Ukraine’s main demands is dealt with in a single line with no details: “Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees”.
Mutual investment and development schemes outlined in the new plan would theoretically bind US and Ukrainian interests, and the US would receive profits from a substantial programme to rebuild Ukraine. European allies would not be able to station peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Russia meanwhile would be invited to rejoin G8 and gradually reintegrated into the global community, with the lifting of sanctions discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Experts have warned the US proposal is heavily favourable to Russia, sidelining Europe and leaving Ukraine no meaningful security guarantees.
“It looks like an attempt by Trump to score a quick diplomatic win rather than a strategy for durable peace,” Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told The Independent.
“In its current form, the plan is a non-starter for Ukraine: it would compel Kyiv to accept major losses without credible security guarantees, while allowing Russia to advance its long-standing goal of seizing the Donbas region it does not yet fully control.”
She warned such an offer would be politically unfeasible for President Zelensky, who would have to face fresh elections within 100 days of a deal.
“Russia gets everything it wants and Ukraine gets not very much,” said Tim Ash of think tank Chatham House. “If Zelensky accepts this I anticipate huge political, social and economic instability in Ukraine.”
And Sir William Browder, anti-corruption campaigner and head of Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, described the proposal as “a 28-point plan cooked up probably on a drunken night in the Kremlin and then endorsed by the United States” in comments to Sky News.
The acceleration in US efforts to end the war comes as Ukrainian troops are on the back foot on the battlefield and Zelensky’s government has been undermined by a corruption scandal. With the war’s fourth winter approaching, Russian troops occupy almost one-fifth of Ukraine and have been grinding slowly forward along a 750-mile front line.
Russia says it has taken control of the city of Kupiansk in northeastern Ukraine and most of Pokrovsk in the east, its first big prizes in nearly two years. Kyiv denies losing control of those cities but has acknowledged Russia is advancing.
The Trump administration has previously sought to influence Ukraine’s standing by withholding aid and intelligence. Washington cut Ukraine off from its intelligence sharing in March in an effort to get it to cooperate with Trump.
Zelensky held a phone call on Friday with the leaders of the UK, Germany and France, and later spoke to US Vice President JD Vance, with a call to Trump expected to take place next week. In earlier remarks, Ukraine’s leader appeared careful not to reject the US plan or to offend the Americans.
“We value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war,” he said. “We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace.”
