Trump urges Ukraine to accept peace plan by Thanksgiving after Zelensky says Kyiv risks losing US support
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump urges Ukraine to accept peace plan by Thanksgiving after Zelensky says Kyiv risks losing US support")
US President Donald Trump Photograph: (AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded more upbeat and said the plan could form the basis of a final peace settlement and added that if Ukraine rejects the proposal, Russia would seek to achieve its objectives “through military means, through armed struggle.”
US President Donald Trump said in an interview on Friday that he wants Ukraine to accept the new peace proposal by Thanksgiving, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the US-drafted 28-point peace plan was forcing his country to choose between its “dignity” and a “key partner.” Trump said in an interview on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show that the deadline is “an appropriate time” and that he has no plans to lift US sanctions on Russia while waiting for a response to the peace proposal. Trump even suggested that Ukraine would “lose in a short period of time.”
“They’re losing land,” Trump said about Ukraine.
The US communicated the Thursday deadline to the Ukrainian government, though the officials stressed this was more of a goal than a firm deadline. The negotiations are likely to be quite complex and will take more than a week, they acknowledged.
Earlier, in a sombre 10-minute address to the nation, Zelensky said, “This is one of the most difficult moments in our history. Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest.”
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner, either the difficult 28 points or a very difficult winter,” he added, urging the nation to stay united during what he said would be “a very difficult, eventful” week.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded more upbeat and said the plan could “form the basis of a final peace settlement,” even though it had not been discussed “substantively” with Russia yet.
Putin said that if Ukraine rejects the proposal, Russia would seek to achieve its objectives “through military means, through armed struggle.”
Zelenskyy later shared in a post on X that he spoke with Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the plan on Friday for almost an hour.
“We agreed to work together with the US and Europe at the level of national security advisors to make the path to peace truly doable,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine has always respected and continues to respect US President Donald Trump’s desire to put an end to the bloodshed, and we view every realistic proposal positively.”
The sudden emergence of the plan has fuelled unease across Europe, which fears a deal imposing major concessions on Ukraine could further embolden Russia.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that any deal must provide full security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe, and Russia.
“This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, after five years of a devastating war, to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give,” she said.
