Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thrown President Trump’s long-awaited peace initiative into turmoil, rejecting key elements of a U.S. plan that sought to halt the devastating Russia Ukraine war, even as the administration signaled it was prepared to lean harder on Kyiv than ever before.
Despite months of battlefield setbacks and more than a million reported casualties since the full-scale invasion began, Trump has remained focused on ending the conflict and stabilizing Eastern Europe.
His administration assembled a sweeping 28-point proposal that sought to offer concessions to both sides, granting Russia control of the territory it already holds in Eastern Ukraine while providing Ukraine with a NATO-style security guarantee meant to deter future aggression.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier in the week that “ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” noting that a durable peace would require concessions from both governments.
Rubio added, “That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides of this conflict.”
The White House confirmed that Rubio and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff had been developing the proposal for roughly a month.
Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas. And achieving a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list…
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 20, 2025
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that the two officials “have been engaging with both sides, Russia and Ukraine equally, to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace,” adding that “that’s how you get to a peace negotiation.”
Witkoff’s plan, which was delivered in writing to Ukraine by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, called for Kyiv to relinquish the entire Donbas region, including areas Russia has failed to hold consistently since first seizing parts of it in 2014.
Ukraine would also pledge never to join NATO, reduce its armed forces from approximately 900,000 personnel to about 600,000, and grant full wartime amnesty that would close the door to any future prosecution of Russian officials or soldiers for war crimes.
.@PressSec on the war in Ukraine: @SEPeaceMissions and @SecRubio have been working on a plan quietly for about the last month. They've been engaging with both sides equally to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace… These… pic.twitter.com/eYMhyWiOap
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 20, 2025
The plan also stated that any future Russian advance into Ukrainian territory would result in a “decisive coordinated military response,” though it did not specify the scope of U.S. involvement.
Additional elements included lifting sanctions on Russia, channeling a portion of frozen Russian assets into rebuilding Ukraine, and allowing Russia to reenter the G8.
The plan envisioned long-term U.S. Russia cooperation in areas such as mining and artificial intelligence.
Zelenskyy initially signaled openness to participation in the negotiations.
After his meeting with Driscoll, he said on social media, “Peace is needed, and we appreciate the efforts of President Trump and his team aimed at restoring security in Europe. Ukraine defends lives and independence thanks to the courage of our people, our unity within the state, and the assistance from our partners.”
Today, during a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, we discussed options for achieving real peace, the sequencing of our work and formats for dialogue, as well as new impulses for diplomacy. Our teams – of Ukraine and the United States – will work on the… pic.twitter.com/kWXnFh4YNz
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 20, 2025
But in a dramatic turn during a 10 minute address to the nation the following day, Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine faced mounting pressure.
“Now the pressure on Ukraine is one of the most difficult. Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” he remarked.
Zelenskyy added that the country was weighing “either [Trump’s] 28 points or an extremely difficult winter, the most difficult and further risks life without freedom, without dignity, without justice.”
BREAKING: President Zelenskyy addressed Ukrainians from outside his presidencial office in Kyiv and told them the county is facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history” as its biggest ally presses it into a deal with the nation that has fought to destroy it for 11… pic.twitter.com/zUowDn10ng
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) November 21, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, endorsed the plan and argued that it could “form the basis of final peace settlement” in Ukraine.
He said the proposals had been discussed before U.S. Russia meetings in Alaska and that Moscow had agreed to several compromises sought by Washington.
“During the talks in Anchorage, we confirmed that despite certain complex issues and difficulties for us, we still confirmed that we agree with those proposals,” Putin noted.
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He claimed Ukraine was responsible for rejecting the earlier outline and said of the updated version, “I believe that it, too, can form the basis of final peace settlement.”
Reports indicated that U.S. officials had warned they were prepared to scale back intelligence support and weapons deliveries if Kyiv refused to work with the proposal.
Anonymous sources described the pressure as more intense than during any previous round of negotiations and said Washington wanted Ukraine to sign a preliminary framework by the following Thursday.
Trump said in an interview with Fox Radio that deadlines could be extended if progress was visible but noted that Thanksgiving, November 27, was “an appropriate time” for achieving a breakthrough.
European leaders reacted negatively to the news that Washington had developed the proposal without consulting them. Britain’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron held a joint call with Zelenskyy, signaling their support for Kyiv’s position.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Europe’s approach consisted of only two guiding principles: weakening Russia and supporting Ukraine.
U.S. officials defended their plan by stating it was drafted after discussions with Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and a close Zelenskyy ally who previously served as defense minister.
A senior U.S. official claimed the document “was drawn up immediately following discussions with one of the most senior members of President Zelenskiy’s administration, Rustem Umerov, who agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskiy.”
Umerov pushed back on that characterization and said he had not evaluated or approved any of the terms.
“During my visit to the United States, my role was technical organizing meetings and preparing the dialogue. I provided no assessments or, even more so, approvals of any points. This is not within my authority and does not correspond to the procedure,” he wrote on Telegram.
After meeting with a U.S. delegation, Umerov reiterated that Ukraine would not accept any agreement that compromised its sovereignty.
He said Kyiv’s position remained unchanged even under heightened diplomatic pressure.
