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Ukraine now faces difficult choice, including ‘losing its dignity’ or ‘a key partner’, says Zelensky
Tara Cobham,Namita SinghSaturday 22 November 2025 07:20 GMTComments
ClosePutin says US peace plan for Ukraine could form 'basis' of final settlement
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Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will not betray Ukraine as he promised to propose "alternatives" toDonald Trump’s peace proposal – while Vladimir Putin backed the deal.
"This is one of the most difficult moments in our history," the Ukrainian president said in a video address to the nation on Friday, following a phone call with US vice president JD Vance.
"Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Washington has warned Kyiv to sign the framework of the US president’s peace deal by next Thursday if Ukraine wants to avoid its weapons supply being cut.
US vice president JD Vance said any plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine should preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and be acceptable to both countries but that it was a "fantasy" to think Ukraine could win if the US were to give Kyiv more money or weapons or impose more sanctions on Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Russian president appeared to show his support for the plan when he said on Friday evening that it could form the “basis” of a final settlement.
The 28-point US-proposed plan endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that Kyiv cede territory, reduce the size of its military and be barred from joining Nato.
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Key Points
- Zelensky says US peace plan forces Ukraine into one of its hardest choices
- Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
- Putin backs Trump’s controversial peace plan to end Ukraine war
- Zelensky faces rebellion as Ukraine’s president under growing pressure
Sen Mitch McConnell suggests Trump should dump his Ukraine advisers
Mitch McConnell lashed out at president Donald Trump’s advisers over the plans on Ukraine suggesting, “if administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than securing real peace, then the president ought to find new advisors”.
Senator Mitch McConnell rides an elevator during a vote related to government funding, more than a month into the longest US government shutdown (Reuters)"Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool," the former GOP leader said in a statement.
"Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America's interests."
Namita Singh22 November 2025 07:20Ukrainian defence minister visited US to discuss peace plans with Witkoff – reports
Two people familiar with the meeting said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, was also in Miami early this week to discuss the plan with special envoy Steve Witkoff, reported Reuters.
One source familiar with the situation said that Witkoff told Umerov about the plan during that visit and that the United States gave the plan to Ukraine via the Turkish government on Wednesday, before directly presenting it in Kyiv on Thursday.
Umerov has described his role as "technical" and denied that he discussed the plan in substance with US officials.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan (R) meeting with Head of the Ukrainian delegation and Ukraine's defence minister Rustem Umerov (L) in Ankara (AFP via Getty)Dmitriev and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that any peace plan "must offer security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe and Russia" and offer economic incentives to both Ukraine and Russia.
"This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, and to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give," she said.
Donald Trump said on Friday that he expected Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to sign onto the plan by the Thanksgiving holiday.
The US has warned Ukraine it could curb military assistance if it does not sign, Reuters has reported.
Namita Singh22 November 2025 07:17Trump officials’ meeting with Russian in Miami spurs questions about latest Ukraine proposal
US officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under US sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia's largest sovereign wealth funds.
Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Russian special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, Kirill Dmitriev, talks to US president Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff (Reuters)A close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev has taken a leading role in talks with the US about the war and has met with Witkoff several times this year. The Trump administration has issued a special waiver to allow his entry, one senior US official told Reuters.
Dmitriev and his fund were blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively bar American citizens and companies from dealing with them.
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public earlier this week by Axios, came as a surprise to US officials in various corners of the administration and has stirred confusion at embassies throughout Washington and in European capitals.
It has also prompted criticism from the Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowing on Friday that he would not betray Ukraine's interests.
Namita Singh22 November 2025 07:14Proposal meets with scepticism in the US Senate
"This so-called 'peace plan' has real problems, and I am highly sceptical it will achieve peace," said Senator 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 Russian president Vladimir Putin should not be rewarded with assurances from the US.
Democratic Senator 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".
Namita Singh22 November 2025 07:00Russia's war against Ukraine is 'existential threat to Europe', EU official says
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."
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike on Ternopil, Ukraine, Friday, 21 November 2025 (AP)Donald Trump in his radio interview, pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Vladimir Putin to carry out further malign action against his European neighbours.
"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 US 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 authorised 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 US proposals, "The European Union has not been communicated any plans in (an) official manner."
Namita Singh22 November 2025 06:40Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine
Volodymyr 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 US proposals that apparently caught them unawares.
Wary of antagonising US president Donald 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.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (AFP via Getty Images)The four leaders welcomed US 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".
Namita Singh22 November 2025 06:20Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
Donald Trump said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is going to have to come to terms with the US 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 US-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 on Friday said he wants an answer from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Thursday, but said an extension is possible to finalise terms.
US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on 28 February 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images)"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 US and Russia, he signalled that Ukraine may face the prospect of losing American support if it chooses to stand firm.
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”.
Namita Singh22 November 2025 06:00Putin accuses Ukraine of being unrealistic
Russian president Vladimir Putin called the plan "a new version" and "a modernised plan" of what was discussed with the US 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 while speaking at a meeting of Russia's National Security Council.
Russian president Vladimir Putin chairs the Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, 21 November 2025 (AP)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.
Namita Singh22 November 2025 05:40Zelensky says US peace plan forces Ukraine into one of its hardest choices
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country in an address on 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 US peace proposal seen as favoring Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, cautiously welcomed the US 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.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky listening during a phone call with French president, British prime minister and German chancellor while sitting at his office in Kyiv (AFP)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 US 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."
Namita Singh22 November 2025 05:20Vance says it is ‘fantasy’ to think Ukraine could win against Russia with more US weapons or money
US vice president JD Vance said any plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine should preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and be acceptable to both countries but that it was a "fantasy" to think Ukraine could win if the US just gave Kyiv more money or weapons or imposed more Russian sanctions.
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