- Trump says the US is giving Kiev a week to accept the peace plan.
- Zelensky, Europeans working on counterproposals, sources say.
- Putin says he has received US plan, says it needs discussion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Friday that Ukraine risks losing its dignity and freedom – or Washington’s backing – over a US peace plan that backs key Russian demands, a proposal Donald Trump said Kyiv would have to accept within a week.
The US president told Fox News Radio that he believed Thursday was an appropriate deadline for Kiev to accept the plan, confirming what two sources told Reuters.
Trump later told reporters that time was short given the coming winter and the need to end the bloodshed, and that Zelensky would have to approve the plan.
“He’s going to have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, you know, they’re probably just going to keep fighting,” he said.
“At some point he’s going to have to accept something he hasn’t accepted,” Trump said.
Recalling his busy February meeting with Zelensky, Trump added: “You remember right in the Oval Office, not too long ago, I said, ‘You don’t have the cards.’
Washington’s 28-point plan calls for Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO. It also contains some proposals that Moscow may object to, requiring 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 give up Russia’s key territorial and security claims, said on Friday that the US plan could be the basis for a final settlement of the nearly four-year-old conflict. He said Kyiv opposed the plan, but neither the country nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.
‘Dignity and freedom for Ukrainians’
Zelensky, who has previously dismissed the plan’s terms as capitulation, appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.
“Now Ukraine may face a very difficult choice – either lose dignity or risk losing an important partner,” he told the nation, adding: “I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked – the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”
Two sources told Reuters that Washington had threatened to cut off intelligence sharing and arms supplies to Ukraine if it did not accept the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the content of private meetings.
A senior US official later said it was not correct to say the US was threatening to withhold intelligence.
Publicly, Zelensky has been careful not to reject the American plan or offend the Americans.
He spoke on Friday with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France and later with US Vice President JD Vance. He said he had agreed with Vance to have their advisers work “to find a workable path to peace”.
“We appreciate the efforts of the United States, President Trump and his team aimed at ending this war,” Zelensky said. “We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace.”
A bad deal for Ukraine could test the stability of its society after nearly four years of relentless warfare.
“Russia gets everything it wants and Ukraine doesn’t get very much,” said Tim Ash of the British think tank Chatham House. “If Zelensky accepts this, I expect enormous political, social and economic instability in Ukraine.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on X that he had “a good and confidential phone call” with Trump about the peace plan on Friday night. They “agreed on the next steps at the adviser level,” he said.
The plan is expected to dominate discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, which European leaders are attending this weekend, despite a boycott by Trump.
‘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 have not been consulted about the US plan and have expressed strong support for Kiev.
“We all want this war to end, but it matters how it ends. Russia has no legal right to any concessions from the country it invaded,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. “This is a very dangerous moment for everyone.”
US officials have said their plan was drawn up 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 changes, and presented it to President Zelensky,” a senior US official said on Thursday.
However, Umerov refused to accept any of the terms of the plan, saying that he had only played a technical role by organizing talks.
Russia’s demands clarified, Kiev’s left vague
The plan would require Ukraine to withdraw from the territory it still controls in 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 barred from joining the NATO military alliance and its armed forces would be limited to 600,000 troops. NATO would agree never to station troops there.
Sanctions against Russia would be gradually lifted, Moscow would be invited back to the G8 group of industrialized countries, and frozen Russian assets would be pooled in an investment fund, with Washington getting some of the profits.
One of Ukraine’s main demands, for enforceable guarantees similar to NATO’s mutual defense clause to deter Russia from attacking again, is dealt with in a single line without detail: “Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees”.
