Ukraine is at a turning point in its four-year struggle to defeat the Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech to the nation on Friday, with Ukrainians potentially facing a choice between defending their sovereign rights or losing U.S. support as leaders negotiate a U.S. peace proposal.
The U.S. plan repeats many of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long-standing demands, while providing limited security guarantees for Ukraine. It predicts that Ukraine will cede territory to Russia, which Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out, reduce the size of its army and block its coveted path to NATO membership.
Zelensky pledged to hold constructive discussions with Washington in what he called “truly one of the most difficult moments in our history.” Zelenskyy said he spoke for nearly an hour Friday with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a radio interview on Friday that he wanted a response from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Thursday, but said an extension was possible to finalize the terms.
“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things work well, you tend to extend deadlines,” Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. “But it’s Thursday – we think it’s an appropriate time.”
Although Zelensky offered to negotiate with the United States and Russia, he signaled that Ukraine might not get everything it wanted and faced the possibility of losing American support if it took a stand.
“Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the strongest,” Zelensky said in a recorded speech. “Ukraine now risks being faced with a very difficult choice: either lose its dignity or risk losing a key partner. »
“We will work calmly with America and all partners,” he declared, while insisting on fair treatment.
He urged Ukrainians to “stop fighting,” perhaps referring to a major corruption scandal that has sparked strong criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week “will be very difficult.”
Europe says it will continue to support Ukraine
Zelensky spoke earlier by telephone with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials rushed to respond to U.S. proposals that had apparently caught them off guard.
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Fearful of antagonizing Trump, European and Ukrainian responses were carefully worded and clearly praised U.S. 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 path to a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, Merz’s office said.
All four leaders praised U.S. efforts to end the war. “In particular, they welcomed the commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and the desire to provide Ukraine with strong security guarantees,” the statement added.
The line of contact must be the starting point for an agreement, they said, and “Ukrainian armed forces must remain able to effectively defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Starmer said Ukraine’s right to “determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle”.
Existential threat to Europe
European countries see their own future at stake in Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine poses an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends is important,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels. “Russia has no legal right to concessions from the country it invaded.
Ultimately, it is up to Ukraine to decide the terms of any agreement.”
In his radio interview, Trump rejected the idea that the settlement, which offers many concessions to Russia, would embolden Putin to take further malicious actions against his European neighbors.
“He’s not thinking about more war,” Trump said of Putin. “He’s thinking of punishment. Say what you want. I mean, it was supposed to be a one-day war that’s now been going on for four years.”
A European government official said the U.S. plans had not been formally presented to Ukraine’s European backers.
Many of the proposals are “quite worrying,” the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also pose a threat to broader European security.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the plan.
European Council President Antonio Costa said in Johannesburg about the US proposals: “The European Union has not been informed of any plans in an (official) way.”
Ukraine considers proposals
Ukrainian officials said they were studying the U.S. proposals, and Zelenskyy said he planned to speak with Trump about them in the coming days.
The Kremlin reacted with reservation, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow had not officially received the US proposal.
“We see some innovations. But officially we have not received anything. And there has been no substantive discussion on these points,” Peskov told reporters, without elaborating.
He said diplomatic contacts between the United States and Russia were “ongoing” but that “nothing of substance was currently being discussed.”
A U.S. team began developing the plan shortly 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 condition of anonymity.
The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several changes, and then presented it to Zelensky.
However, Umerov denied this version of events on Friday. He said he was only organizing meetings and preparing for the talks.
He said technical negotiations between the United States and Ukraine continue in Kyiv.
“We thoughtfully treat partners’ proposals within the framework of Ukraine’s unchanging principles: sovereignty, people’s security and just peace,” he said.
Russian hover bomb hits homes in Ukraine
Meanwhile, a Russian glide bomb slammed into a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing five people, officials said Friday, as Moscow’s forces continued to strike civilian areas of Ukraine. The nighttime attack also injured 10 people, including a teenage girl.
The powerful glide bomb damaged high-rise buildings for the third time since the start of the war and also destroyed a local market, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.
A Russian drone assault on the southern city of Odessa also hit a residential area overnight, injuring five people, including a 16-year-old boy.
Hatton contributed from Lisbon, Portugal. Also contributing to reporting were Harriet Morris in Tallinn, Estonia, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Angela Charlton in Paris, Pan Pan Pan Pands in London and Amer Madhani in Washington.
