KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his country in an address Friday that it could face a pivotal choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs, as leaders discuss a U.S. peace proposal seen as favoring Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, cautiously welcomed the U.S. plan to end Moscow’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, which contains many of the Kremlin’s longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine. Putin said it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement,” while accusing Ukraine of opposing the plan and being unrealistic.
The plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia — something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out — while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to NATO membership.
Zelensky, in his address hours earlier, did not reject the plan outright, but insisted on fair treatment while pledging to “work calmly” with Washington and other partners in what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history.” He said he spoke for almost an hour Friday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.
“Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,” Zelensky said in the recorded speech. “Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Speaking at a meeting of Russia’s National Security Council, Putin called the plan “a new version” and “a modernized plan” of what was discussed with the U.S. ahead of his Alaska summit with President Donald Trump in August, and said Moscow has received it. “I believe that it, too, could form the basis for a final peace settlement,” he said.
But he said the “text has not been discussed with us in any substantive way, and I can guess why,” adding that Washington has so far been unable to gain Ukraine’s consent. “Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said.
Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
Trump said Zelensky is going to have to come to terms with the U.S. proposal, and if he doesn’t, “they should just keep fighting, I guess.”
Asked by reporters about Zelensky saying his country faces a difficult choice, Trump alluded to their tense meeting in February that led to a brief rupture in the U.S.-Ukraine relationship: “You remember right in the Oval Office not so long ago? I said you don’t have the cards.”
Trump in a radio interview earlier Friday said he wants an answer from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Thursday, but said an extension is possible to finalize terms.
“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Trump said in an interview on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio. “But Thursday is it — we think an appropriate time.”
While Zelensky has offered to negotiate with the U.S. and Russia, he signaled Ukraine has to confront the possibility of losing American support if it makes a stand.
He urged Ukrainians to “stop fighting” each other, in a possible reference to a major corruption scandal that has brought fierce criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week “will be very difficult.”
Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine
Zelensky spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to the U.S. proposals that apparently caught them unawares.
Wary of antagonizing Trump, the European and Ukrainian leaders cautiously worded their responses and pointedly commended American peace efforts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured Zelensky of “their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace” in Ukraine, Merz’s office said.
The four leaders welcomed U.S. efforts to end the war. “In particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees,” the statement added.
The line of contact must be the departure point for an agreement, they said, and “the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively.”
Starmer said the right of Ukraine to “determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle.”
Existential threat to Europe
European countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels. “Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.”
Trump in his radio interview pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Putin to carry out further malign action on his European neighbors.
“He’s not thinking of more war,” Trump said of Putin. ”He’s thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now.”
A European government official said the U.S. plans weren’t officially presented to Ukraine’s European backers.
Many of the proposals are “quite concerning,” the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.
The official was not authorized to discuss the plan publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
European Council President Antonio Costa, in Johannesburg, said of the U.S. proposals, “The European Union has not been communicated any plans in (an) official manner.”
Proposal meets with skepticism in the U.S. Senate
“This so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
Wicker added that Ukraine should be allowed to determine the size of its military and Putin should not be rewarded with assurances from the U.S.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said there’s “general concern and alarm that this is a Russian wish list proposal.”
Ukraine examines the proposals
Ukrainian officials said they were weighing the U.S. proposals, and Zelensky said he expected to talk to Trump about it in coming days.
A U.S. team began drawing up the plan soon after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelensky, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Zelensky.
However, Umerov on Friday denied that version of events. He said he only organized meetings and prepared the talks.
He said technical talks between the U.S. and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv.
“We are thoughtfully processing the partners’ proposals within the framework of Ukraine’s unchanging principles — sovereignty, people’s security, and a just peace,” he said.
