Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he has spoken with the leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany about a proposed 28-point peace plan from the Trump administration to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. He said the leaders “value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war.”
In a separate video posted on social media Friday, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine may find itself facing a very difficult choice: Either loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner. Either a difficult 28 points, or an extremely difficult winter.”
A Ukrainian official said Zelenskyy also discussed the peace plan with Vice President JD Vance on Friday.
President Trump said in a radio interview that he wants an answer from Zelenskyy on his 28-point plan by Thursday, which is Thanksgiving, but says an extension is possible to finalize terms.
“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. “But Thursday is it — we think an appropriate time.”
Later Friday, Mr. Trump told reporters “we have a plan” to address the Russia-Ukraine war, but Zelenskyy still needs to approve it. The president said of the Ukrainian leader, “at some point he’s going to have to accept something.”
“He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then they should just keep fighting, I guess,” Mr. Trump said.
Among its provisions, the plan would require Ukraine to give up a large swath of its eastern territory, limit the size of its military, and be barred from ever joining NATO — points favorable to demands previously made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the U.S. 28-point plan had not been discussed with Russia in detail.
Putin, who appeared on camera on Friday, said Russia had received the text of the 28-point plan “through existing channels of communication with the U.S. administration.”
“I believe it could too form the basis for a final peace settlement,” he said. “But this text is not being discussed with us in any substantive way. And I can assume why. I believe the reason is the same: the U.S. administration has so far been unable to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is against it.”
European Union ambassadors met with the Ukrainian ambassador in Washington Friday, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. They discussed the current situation between Russia and Ukraine and recent events, including phone conversations between Zelenskyy and Vance, the Chancellor of Germany and Mr. Trump, as well as between European leaders.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll separately met with 31 ambassadors of European nations on Friday and discussed U.S. intentions, the urgency and momentum the U.S. has achieved, said Col. Dave Butler, a U.S. military spokesman. He took questions after giving a statement, Butler disclosed.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and war has raged there ever since.
Some European governments were aware that the U.S. was working on a proposal, but were not involved in drafting it, European officials contacted by CBS News said. As of Thursday, officials said European governments had not been briefed on the plan’s contents.
“We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace,” Zelenskyy said on social media Friday after his call with French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“We are coordinating closely to make sure that the principled stances are taken into account,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the leaders “coordinated the next steps and agreed that our teams will work together at the corresponding levels.”
In a prior social media post late Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken about the plan with a “high-level delegation” from the U.S.
“The American side presented its proposals — the points of a plan to end the war — their vision. From the first days of the war, we have upheld one very simple position: Ukraine needs peace. A real peace — one that will not be broken by a third invasion. A dignified peace — with terms that respect our independence, our sovereignty, and the dignity of the Ukrainian people. And it is exactly such terms that we must secure. I outlined our key principles. And we agreed that our teams will work on these proposals to ensure it’s all genuine,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader said he expected to speak with President Trump in the coming days.
“We are fully aware that America’s strength and America’s support can truly bring peace closer, and we do not want to lose that,” Zelenskyy said. “We are also aware that Russia has no real desire for peace — otherwise they would not have started this war.”
A German government statement released Friday after the phone call between Zelenskyy, Macron, Starmer and Merz said the four European leaders “welcomed the United States’ efforts to end the war in Ukraine. In particular, they welcomed the commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and the willingness to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees.”
The German statement said the leaders “pledged to continue pursuing the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term. This includes, among other things, ensuring that the Line of Contact serves as the starting point for any understanding and that the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
The leaders agreed that any plan affecting the EU, European countries or NATO “requires the approval of European partners or a consensus among the allies,” the German statement said.