Trump gave Zelensky a short deadline to respond to peace plan

(Patria) - Representatives of US President Donald Trump gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only a few days to respond to a peace agreement proposal, which requires Ukraine to accept territorial losses in exchange for unspecified US security guarantees, according to officials familiar with the talks.

The Ukrainian president informed his European counterparts that during a two-hour phone call on Saturday, December 6, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner pressured him to make a quick decision, reports the Financial Times.

A source familiar with the negotiations stated that Trump hopes to reach an agreement "by Christmas." Zelensky told the US envoys that he needed time to consult with European allies before responding to Washington's proposal. Kyiv fears that a US move without European support could undermine Western unity.

One Western official described Ukraine's position as being caught between territorial demands they cannot accept and an American side they cannot refuse.

"Honestly, the Americans are asking for a compromise today," Zelensky told reporters on Monday evening. On the same day, the Ukrainian president met with the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in London.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hinted at the urgency of the situation at the beginning of the meeting, saying they had gathered to discuss "the coming days. "This could be a decisive time for all of us."

Zelensky stated that he is working "very actively" on the components of the agreement to end the war. "The Ukrainian and European components have already been worked out in more detail, and we are ready to present them to our partners in America," he said. "Together with the American side, we expect to make possible steps as effectively and as quickly as possible."

Last week, Witkoff and Kushner held three days of negotiations with Ukrainian negotiators in Miami, represented by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and Andriy Hnatov, Chief of the General Staff.

Zelensky hinted that progress had been made in revising the original 28-point US peace plan, drafted with significant Russian input. He claimed that the plan, which initially contained several "anti-Ukrainian" points, has now been reduced to 20 points and is more favorable to Kyiv.

Zelensky also conveyed his fears to European leaders today that the EU might abandon the plan for a "reparations loan" to Ukraine, backed by frozen Russian central bank assets, largely due to fear of upsetting Washington. Meanwhile, pressure is also mounting on the ground. Russian forces have intensified attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent months and are making steady, albeit costly, gains in the southeast.

In the Donetsk region, which Ukraine is being asked to cede, Moscow's forces have captured most of the strategic stronghold of Pokrovsk and are threatening to encircle nearby Mirnohrad. In an interview with Politico today, when asked if he had set a deadline for Zelensky, Trump said: "Well, he's going to have to get to work and start, uh, accepting things... because he's losing."

Ukrainian officials, however, claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin is falsely reporting the complete capture of cities to convince Trump that the Russian army is unstoppable.

Nevertheless, Zelensky noted in his statement last night that the final peace agreement depends on the consent of the country that started the largest war in Europe since 1945. "And as our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting," he concluded.