Trump gives Zelensky a week to respond to the peace plan for Ukraine

Moscow / WashingtonDonald Trump adds pressure and directly issues an ultimatum to Volodymyr Zelensky to accept his peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. In an interview on Fox News Radio, the White House leader gave him a week to sign the agreement, before next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, as he considers it "the right time." This is the first time the US president has commented on the proposal, which has his backing, to end the conflict.

Trump also stated that Kuwait is losing territory and that it is very likely to end up losing all of Donbas. According to the Financial TimesThe US side has threatened Kyiv with ceasing intelligence sharing and arms deliveries if it doesn't agree to cool down the proposal. These are the same pressure tactics Trump applied earlier this year while they were also negotiating the rare earth mining deal. He also promised to impose "very powerful sanctions" against Russia soon, which would further complicate the sale of Russian oil, and dismissed the idea that Vladimir Putin intends to attack the Baltic states. During the meeting at the White House with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump already raised the cession of Ukrainian territories as a condition for peace. The Ukrainian leader rejected this idea. showed openIn that meeting, Zelensky explained to reporters that Trump had shown him a map with the front line and combat zones in Ukraine, as well as the areas he was supposed to cede to Russia. The Ukrainian leader was accompanied by the entire European delegation to try to extract a commitment from the US president to provide security guarantees, but the draft plan presented by Washington completely eliminates them and paralyzes Europe. The proposal would prohibit the presence of NATO troops inside Ukraine, which would derail a European plan aimed at guaranteeing the country's security after the war.

This afternoon, Zelensky held a nearly hour-long telephone conversation with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll.

Zelensky: "One of the most difficult moments in our history"

A short time earlier, Zelensky had acknowledged that Ukraine is facing "one of the most difficult moments in its history." In a somber address to the nation, the leader lamented the pressure Ukraine is under, forced to cross many of its red lines: "We must face a very difficult choice: lose our dignity or risk losing a key partner," he said, addressing the people. He then posed the following dilemma: "Either the 28 difficult points [of the agreement], or an extremely harsh winter—the harshest in history—and further risks. Life without freedom, without dignity, without justice." For all these reasons, the Ukrainian leader asked his citizens to remain united in these difficult times and pledged not to "betray" his country. "They will expect a response from us. Although the truth is, I already gave this response," he noted, referring to the oath he took upon being sworn in as president in 2019, in which he pledged to defend Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. Zelensky has expressed his willingness to continue working calmly with Washington to "seek constructive solutions" with his "key allies." "I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process, and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy," he asserted. He also passed the buck to Europe: "We remember that Europe has supported us. We expect Europe to support us." The Ukrainian president has already held consultations with key European allies with the aim of contributing modifications to the US plan. Along with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, Zelenskyy thanked Trump for his mediation efforts and reiterated that any agreement affecting the European Union requires the consensus of its allies. The four insisted that the current front line between the territories controlled by Ukraine and Russia should be the "starting point for any understanding" and that "the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine's sovereignty." This position contradicts both Trump's plan and his own views. Putin is open to negotiating the plan.

Meanwhile, Putin has confirmed for the first time that he has received Trump's peace plan. At a Security Council meeting, he explained that the text could serve as a "basis" for an agreement, but that it had not been discussed in detail with Moscow and that time was needed to analyze all the points. According to the Russian leader, the draft he received had already been discussed before the summit between presidents in Alaska in August, and has now only been "modernized." Putin emphasized that nothing has changed since then, that the United States asked them for flexibility in resolving the conflict, and that they have complied. For this reason, he accused Zelensky of having hindered the peace negotiations so far by refusing to discuss his demands. However, he added that, although Russia is prepared for peace talks, the current dynamic on the front, which leads to the achievement of its objectives by military means, also favors Russia, and that, therefore, if the talks do not succeed, it could continue fighting.