Ukraine, Europe scramble to respond to US plan to end war
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The US proposal to end the war in Ukraine would force the country to give up land to Russia, reduce its army, and pledge never to join NATO.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV – Ukraine and its European allies scrambled on Nov 22 to come up with counterproposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to end the war that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met on Nov 20 on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency said.
The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, the presidency said.
Mr Starmer had earlier said the aim was to “look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the allies should make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, saying it “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground”.
“There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he added.
Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Mr Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Mr Trump’s proposal.
A top Ukrainian official on Nov 22 said Kyiv would launch talks with the US in Switzerland to discuss ways to end the war. The delegation will be led by Mr Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak.
Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.
Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began
This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.
Mr Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to sign the deal.
Mr Zelensky pledged to work to ensure any deal would not “betray” Ukraine’s interests
‘He’ll have to like it’
Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the Group of Eight, under a draft of the plan seen by AFP.
Mr Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.
“Ukraine and its European allies are still living under illusions and dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Mr Putin said in a televised meeting with his security council.
If Kyiv walks away, Russia claims its recent recapturing of the Ukrainian city Kupiansk “will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front line”, Mr Putin added.
The Ukrainian army denies Russia has retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested it back.
Mr Trump said that Nov 27 – when the US celebrates Thanksgiving
“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting,” Mr Trump told reporters. “At some point, he’s going to have to accept something.”
‘Loss of dignity’
Earlier this week, Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks in 2025 and one of the worst on western Ukraine since the invasion.
Thirty-two people died in the western city of Ternopil after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks.
To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as “de facto” Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region.
Ukraine would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no NATO troops deployed to its territory.
In return, Ukraine would get unspecified “reliable security guarantees” and a fund for reconstruction using some Russian assets frozen in foreign accounts.
Mr Zelensky said in his address: “The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.” AFP
