Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has cautioned that Kyiv could lose crucial US backing over a proposed White House roadmap aimed at ending the conflict with Russia.
Speaking to Ukrainians on Friday, Zelensky said the country “might face a very difficult choice: either losing dignity, or risk losing a key partner”, describing the moment as “one of the most difficult” in Ukraine’s history.
The leaked US peace proposal contains elements Kyiv has long rejected, including surrendering eastern territories still under Ukrainian control, reducing the size of its armed forces, and pledging to stay out of NATO. Many analysts view the plan as favourable to Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it could serve as a “basis” for negotiations.
Putin confirmed that Moscow had received the proposal and was prepared to “show flexibility”, though he insisted Russia was also ready to continue fighting.
Later, US President Donald Trump remarked that Zelensky would “have to like” the plan or the conflict would simply continue.
Ukraine relies heavily on American-supplied advanced weapons, particularly air defence systems, as well as US intelligence support. Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
In his 10-minute speech outside the presidential office, Zelensky warned Ukrainians about mounting pressure “to weaken us, to divide us”, stressing that “the enemy is not sleeping”. Calling for unity, he insisted that Ukraine’s “national interest must be taken into account”.
“We’re not making loud statements,” he added, saying Kyiv would instead work “calmly” with the US and other allies while “offering alternatives” to the plan.
Zelensky said he had received assurances of continued support during calls with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Sir Keir later said Ukraine’s partners were committed to securing “a just and lasting peace once and for all”. Ahead of the G20 summit in South Africa, he noted that leaders would “discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of President Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Trump is not attending the summit, citing widely discredited claims of anti-white persecution in South Africa.
Zelensky also revealed he had held a lengthy conversation with US Vice-President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, noting that Ukraine “always respected” Trump’s efforts to stop the war.
In Washington, Trump warned Ukraine could lose further territory to Russia “in a short amount of time”. He said giving Kyiv until 27 November, Thanksgiving — to accept the deal was “appropriate”, but added deadlines might be extended if progress was visible.
“We think we have a way of getting peace,” Trump said, adding that Zelensky “is going to have to approve it”. Senior Pentagon officials were dispatched to Kyiv earlier this week as pressure mounted on Ukraine to respond quickly.
On Thursday, Putin appeared intent on continuing the conflict despite reports of major Russian losses. “We have our tasks, our goals,” he told his military leadership, wearing a uniform. “The chief one is the unconditional achievement of the aims of the special military operation [full-scale war].”
The 28-point US proposal surfaced as Russia slowly advances in south-eastern Ukraine and Zelensky confronts a domestic scandal involving $100m (£76m) allegedly misappropriated by top officials.
The White House has rejected suggestions that Ukraine was excluded from the drafting process.
According to US officials, the plan was prepared following talks with Ukraine’s security chief Rustem Umerov, who reportedly accepted most of its terms and added adjustments before presenting it to Zelensky.
The draft calls for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the remaining areas of Donetsk they control, while acknowledging de facto Russian control over Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. It also proposes freezing the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia where Russia occupies parts of each region.
The plan would cap Ukraine’s military at 600,000 troops and relocate European fighter jets to bases in Poland. It mentions “reliable security guarantees” for Kyiv but offers no specifics. It further assumes Russia will refrain from future invasions and that NATO will halt expansion.
Another provision envisions reintegrating Russia into the global economy, lifting sanctions, and restoring it to the G7, once again making it the G8.
Ukrainians under both occupation and free territories reacted defiantly. A soldier’s widow in Kyiv told the BBC: “This is not a peace plan, it is a plan to continue the war.” A resident in an occupied area said: “I’m trying to keep my sanity here in the conditions of constant propaganda that Ukraine has forgotten us. I hope they will not sign this.”
Russia currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory and continues to push forward along the front line despite reported heavy casualties.
