Ukraine risks losing US support over peace plan — Zelenskyy

Just before getting on the plane to the G20 meeting in South Africa, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's advisors have said he spoke with US President Trump and that the pair had a direct conversation about the 28-point US plan to end the war in Ukraine.

The outcome is that both leaders agree there will be a process of negotiation between the United States and the Europeans, who spent the whole of Friday consulting amongst themselves.

The outcome of those European consultations was a counter-proposal of a peace plan, and these two plans will now be looked at by top negotiators from the US and the European side.

The Europeans are hoping to be able to negotiate away key elements of the US plan that would throw into question not just the future of Ukraine, but also of the European security architecture.

These are key days and hours not just for Kyiv, but also for the entire European continent.

President Donald Trump said his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will "have to like" a US-backed plan to end the war, which forces Kyiv to cede large parts of its territory to Russia, cap the size of its military and prevent it from joining NATO.

"He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting," Trump told reporters at the White House. 

"At some point he's going to have to accept something," Trump added.

Earlier, Trump told Fox News Radio he believed Thursday was an appropriate deadline for Ukraine to accept the plan.

Zelenskyy told Ukrainians to brace for "one of the most difficult moments in our history." 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with US President Donald Trump on Friday night, with the pair discussing the US plan to end the war in Ukraine in what Merz called a "good and confidential phone call."

Merz said the pair had "agreed on the next steps at the advisors' level" and said he would brief European partners on the conversation.

A spokesman for the Chancellor described the 15-minute call as "trusting and engaging."

The US plan revealed earlier this week would require Ukraine to make significant concessions, including handing over territory in eastern Ukraine which Russia has not conquered, reducing the size of its military and renouncing its ambitions of joining NATO.

Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported that Germany, France and the United Kingdom were working on an alternative peace plan which would be less favorable to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had received a copy of the 28-point plan, but that his government had not yet discussed it in detail with the US.

"I believe that it can be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement," Putin said during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, which gathers Russia's most powerful officials.

The Russian president said his government had discussed Trump's peace plan before their August summit in Alaska. He claimed that Moscow had made compromises, as requested by Washington.

"The US administration has so far failed to secure the consent of the Ukrainian side. Ukraine is against it," Putin said.

Putin said that Russian advances in eastern Ukraine would continue if Kyiv refuses the US peace plan.

Russia claimed this week to have taken the northeastern Ukrainian cityof Kupiansk, which Ukraine has denied.

The city, which had a pre-war population of around 55,000, is a key road and rail hub and has been on the frontline ever since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

"If Kyiv does not want to discuss President Trump's proposal and refuses to do so, then both they and the European warmongers should understand that the events that took place in Kupiansk will inevitably be repeated in other key sectors of the front," Putin said.

"In general, that works for us," the Russian leader added.

The presidents of the European Council and European Commission have said EU leaders will meet Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg to discuss the US peace plan for Ukraine.

In a statement on X, Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen said they had spoken to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss their response to the proposal by the Trump administration.

The plan, which did not involve European or Ukrainian leaders, entails Ukraine having to cede territory currently occupied by Russia and abandoning its ambitions to join NATO, among others.

"From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression," Costa and von der Leyen said.

"We are clear that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," the EU officials added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he held an almost hour-long phone call with US Vice President JD Vance and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Friday.

They discussed the US proposal to end the fighting in Ukraine, on terms that are seen as more favorable to Russia.

"We managed to cover a lot of details of the American side's proposals for ending the war, and we're working to make the path forward dignified and truly effective for achieving a lasting peace," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

"Ukraine has always respected and continues to respect US President Donald Trump's desire to put an end to the bloodshed, and we view every realistic proposal positively," he added.

"We agreed to work together with the US and Europe at the level of national security advisors to make the path to peace truly doable," Zelenskyy said.

European leaders have been responding to the peace plan proposed by the United States to end the war in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday, with both leaders emphasizing the need for diplomacy and security guarantees for Ukraine.

"In the conversation, the importance of supporting ongoing negotiating efforts was underlined and the ultimate goal of achieving a just and lasting peace, in the interest of Europe as a whole, was reaffirmed," Meloni's office said in a statement.

"The reference to solid security guarantees ... was welcomed," the statement continued. "Other elements of the plan were deemed worthy of further examination."

The US proposal promises Ukraine "robust security guarantees" but does not spell out what these might be.

Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency reports that Germany, France and the United Kingdom are working on an alternative peace plan which would likely be less favorable to Russia than the US proposals.

US President Donald Trump has said Thursday, November 27 is an "appropriate" deadline for Ukraine to accept the peace deal proposed by his administration to end the war.

Speaking to Fox News Radio on Friday, Trump said, "I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines. But Thursday is, we think, is an appropriate time."

The peace proposal, which would require Ukraine to cede large parts of its territory and abandon its ambitions of joining NATO, has raised concerns with Kyiv and its European allies that the plan is too favorable to Russia.

Officials from both Ukraine and Russia have said they were not consulted for the proposal.

A White House official told AFP news agency that Trump's aim is to end the war "as quickly as possible."

"President Trump is working with both sides to end the war as quickly as possible, which has gone on for far too long, with too many senseless deaths," a White House official said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyurged his compatriots to remain united but warned that the country faces "a very difficult choice: either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner."

Zelenskyy's comments come with Kyiv under pressure to accept a 28-point United States plan to end the war on terms which are seen as being favorable to Russia, including the ceding of additional territory to Moscow, restrictions on the size of its military and a ban from joining NATO.

"Now is one of the most difficult moments of our history," he said, saying Ukraine must choose between "either 28 difficult points or an extremely harsh winter — the harshest ever — and further risks; life without freedom, without dignity, without justice."

While Russian infantry continues to grind forward in eastern Ukraine, at huge human cost, missile and drone strikes continue to pound Ukraine's energy system ahead of the onset of winter. Meanwhile, the political establishment in Kyiv has been rocked by a corruption scandal involving senior officials and business elites.

"Our people, citizens, politicians – everyone – must come together," said Zelenskyy. "Pull ourselves together. Stop the spat. Stop the political games. The parliament of a country at war must work in unity. The government of a country at war must work effectively. We did not betray Ukraine then [on the day of the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022], and we will not do so now."

Zelenskyy said he would "work calmly" with the United States and Ukraine's other partners in order to seek "constructive solutions."

"I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives," he promised. "But we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy."

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a parliamentary inquiry in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern that he had long campaigned for Germany to rid itself of its dependence on Russian energy.

The former chancellor was testifying over the construction of the controversial pipeline, which was intended to transport cheaper Russian gas to Germany. The pipeline was never opened due to Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing western sanctions on Moscow.

"I never understood why Germany, unlike many other countries, such as Belgium, did not build an LNG infrastructure in addition to a pipeline infrastructure," he said.

Scholz served as finance minister and vice chancellor under Angela Merkel from 2018 until December 2021, when he became chancellor.

The construction of the controversial pipeline started during his tenure as finance minister, despite opposition from Ukraine, Poland, the US and others.

Ukraine is seeking a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump to discuss Washington's peace plan, an unnamed source told DW's US correspondent Misha Komadovsky on Friday.

Kyiv is hoping the meeting would be held next week, the source added.

It comes as Zelenskyy publicly said Kyiv is "working on the document prepared by the American side," with no formal response issued just yet.

Moscow said on Friday it was not consulted on the US 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was yet to officially receive the draft of the US plan. He added that while Moscow believes the plan includes some new input, "there was no factual discussion of these points." 

The existence of the peace plan was first reported by the Axios news website, which also reported that it was prepared in consultation with Moscow.

The plan involves points which the Kremlin has long called for, such as five Ukrainian areas which Russia now partially controls being recognized as de-facto Russian territories, and guarantees that Ukraine would not join the NATO military alliance and that NATO troops would not be stationed in the country.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the US peace plan presented by the Trump administration.

Kyiv's three European allies stressed their "full and unwavering" support for Ukraine, adding that a solution to the conflict must preserve its sovereignty and guarantee its future security.

The leaders thanked the US for the proposal, according to a statement by Merz, especially hailing the part of the plan which ensured Ukraine's sovereignty and promised security guarantees.

But they did stress that any decision must have Europe's and NATO's "consensus," according to a French presidency statement.

"Our common goal remains to protect vital European and Ukrainian interests – based on the contact line and a strong Ukrainian defence capability," Merz said.

The European leaders did not directly address the parts of the plan which would require Ukraine to surrender five areas which are currently mostly controlled by Russia and to abandon their ambitions of joining the NATO military alliance. Both points have long been rejected by Kyiv and its European allies.

"We are working on the document prepared by the American side," Zelenskyy said on X following the phone call. "This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace."

The Kremlin has warned Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate or face losing more territory.

"The effective work of the Russian armed forces should convince Zelenskyy: it is better to negotiate and do it now rather than later," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russian forces have continuously made incremental gains in eastern Ukraine over the past several months of war.

Peskov said Russian battlefield advances were limiting Zelenskyy's options.

"The space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost during offensive actions by the Russian army," Peskov added.

Zelenskyy has acknowledged receiving the US-backed plans but has not commented directly on its contents and is expected to hold a call with European leaders.

French government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon has come out strongly stating that "our children will not go to fight and die in Ukraine" in comments on TF1 television.

The comments come after France's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Fabien Mandon, called for greater sacrifice on the part of French people.

On Tuesday, Mandon warned: "If our country falters because it is not prepared to lose its children, then we are in danger."

Opposition politicians on both sides denounced this statement, with some accusing Mandon of exceeding his authority.

On Friday, Bregeon responded: “Let's be very clear: our children, in the sense that we understand it, will not go to fight and die in Ukraine."

Bregeon, pointed out that France has "a professional army."