Trump piles pressure on Ukraine to accept Russia peace deal by Thanksgiving

The White House stepped up pressure Friday on Kyiv to agree a quick peace deal with Russia, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine is approaching “one of the most difficult moments” in its history.

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a deadline of Thanksgiving Day — next Thursday — to agree to his brokered peace deal, which would hand a significant amount of Ukrainian territory to Russia even though Moscow hasn’t yet captured it during nearly four years of its full-scale invasion.

“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News radio on Friday. “But Thursday, we think is an appropriate time.”

Zelenskyy’s somber remarks come as a new 28-point peace proposal — circulated by Trump and his administration — surfaced this week, which would also confirm Ukraine’s sovereignty, but limit its armed forces to 600,000 personnel and bar the country from joining NATO permanently.

“Now the pressure on Ukraine is one of the most difficult. Now Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice. Either loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelenskyy said, in reference to the U.S., where Trump has long been skeptical of fully backing Kyiv’s war effort.

“They will expect an answer from us,” Zelenskyy said about the peace proposal. “Although in fact I have already given it,” he added, citing the oath he took when he entered office in 2019 to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The leaked plan has intensified fears in Ukraine and European capitals that Washington is ready to chart its own diplomatic course, potentially favoring Russia while sidelining Kyiv and its European allies at a critical moment in the war.

“Americans are talking to Ukraine with a language of pressure. As the only option is to sign. If the Ukrainians don’t sign it, the United States will cut all the aid and intelligence sharing,” a senior European official told POLITICO after being granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.

Zelenskyy stressed that Kyiv would work “quickly” and “24/7” to ensure that “among all the points of the plan, at least two are not missed … the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”

The Ukrainian leader also discussed Trump’s peace proposal with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

“The leaders value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war, and are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace,” Zelenskyy’s office said in a statement.

The U.S. pressure campaign has arrived at the worst possible moment for Zelenskyy, who is facing uproar triggered by a $100 million energy corruption scandal that caused a domestic revolt from allied lawmakers, opposition MPs and Kyiv’s graft-busters.

In the face of that political crisis, he also called for solidarity in his address Friday evening.

“I am addressing all Ukrainians now. Our people, citizens, politicians — everyone. We need to get together. Come to your senses. Stop the bullshit. Stop the political games. The state must work. The parliament of a country at war must work unitedly. The government of a country at war must work effectively,” Zelenskyy said.

“And all of us together must not forget and not confuse who exactly is the enemy of Ukraine today.”

This story has been updated.