{"id":146911,"date":"2025-11-21T19:44:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T19:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/146911\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T19:44:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T19:44:22","slug":"ukraine-faces-losing-dignity-or-key-partner-under-us-plan-zelensky-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/146911\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine faces losing dignity or key partner under US plan, Zelensky says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukraine is at a pivotal point in its four-year fight to defeat Russia\u2019s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to the nation, with Ukrainians potentially facing a choice between standing up for their sovereign rights or losing American support as leaders negotiate a US peace proposal.<\/p>\n

The US plan contains many of Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine. It foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out, reduces the size of its army and blocks its coveted path to NATO membership.<\/p>\n

Zelensky pledged to hold constructive discussions with Washington at what he called \u201ctruly one of the most difficult moments in our history\u201d, Zelensky said he spoke for almost an hour Saturday with US Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump, in a radio interview, said that he wants an answer from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Friday, but says an extension is possible to finalise terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,\u201d Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. \u201cBut Thursday (local time) is it \u2014 we think an appropriate time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.lo (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

While Zelensky has offered to negotiate with the US and Russia, he signalled Ukraine may not get everything it wants and has to confront the possibility of losing American support if it makes a stand.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest,” Zelensky said in a recorded speech. “Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will work calmly with America and all partners,” he said, but insisted on fair treatment.<\/p>\n

He urged Ukrainians to \u201cstop fighting\u201d each other, in a possible reference to a major corruption scandal that has brought fierce criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week \u201cwill be very difficult\u201d.<\/p>\n

Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine<\/p>\n

\"Rescues<\/p>\n

Rescues work at a market destroyed by a Russian airstrike on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Zelensky spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to the US proposals that apparently caught them unawares.<\/p>\n

Wary of antagonising Trump, the European and Ukrainian responses were cautiously worded and pointedly commended American peace efforts.<\/p>\n

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured Zelensky of \u201ctheir unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace\u201d in Ukraine, Merz\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

The four leaders welcomed US efforts to end the war. \u201cIn particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

The line of contact must be the departure point for an agreement, they said, and “the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively\u201d.<\/p>\n

Starmer said the right of Ukraine to “determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle\u201d.<\/p>\n

Existential threat to Europe<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police officers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike on Ternopil, Ukraine (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

European countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine\u2019s fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia\u2019s war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters,\u201d EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels. \u201cRussia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.”<\/p>\n

Trump, in his radio interview, pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Putin to carry out further malign action against his European neighbours.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not thinking of more war,” Trump said of Putin. “He\u2019s thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

A European government official said that the US plans weren\u2019t officially presented to Ukraine\u2019s European backers.<\/p>\n

Many of the proposals are \u201cquite concerning\u201d, the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.<\/p>\n

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the plan publicly.<\/p>\n

European Council President Antonio Costa in Johannesburg said of the US proposals: \u201cThe European Union has not been communicated (about) any plans in (an) official manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukraine examines the proposals<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on November 21, 2025, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky looks into the camera while delivering a video address to the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Ukrainian officials said they were weighing the US proposals, and Zelensky said he expected to talk to Trump about it in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin offered a reserved reaction, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Moscow has not officially received the US proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing some innovations. But officially, we haven\u2019t received anything. And there hasn\u2019t been a substantive discussion of these points,\u201d Peskov told reporters without elaborating further.<\/p>\n

He claimed US-Russian diplomatic contacts are \u201congoing\u201d, but \u201cnothing substantive is currently being discussed\u201d.<\/p>\n

A US team began drawing up the plan soon after US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelensky, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Zelensky.<\/p>\n

However, Umerov on Saturday denied that version of events. He said he only organised meetings and prepared the talks.<\/p>\n

He said technical talks between the US and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thoughtfully processing the partners\u2019 proposals within the framework of Ukraine\u2019s unchanging principles \u2014 sovereignty, people\u2019s security, and a just peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Russian glide bomb hits Ukraine homes<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Russian glide bomb slammed into a residential district in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing five people, officials said Friday, as Moscow\u2019s forces continued to hammer civilian areas of Ukraine. The overnight attack also injured 10 people, including a teenage girl.<\/p>\n

The powerful glide bomb damaged some high-rise apartment blocks for the third time since the war began and also wrecked a local market, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.<\/p>\n

A Russian drone assault on the southern city of Odesa also struck a residential area during the night, injuring five people, including a 16-year-old boy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ukraine is at a pivotal point in its four-year fight to defeat Russia\u2019s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,42,43,1979,40,38,41,39,1745],"class_list":["post-146911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-russia-invades-ukraine","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-uk-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}