Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he is working on a proposal from the United States to end the Russia-Ukraine war, as Kiev faces increasing pressure from Washington and continued attacks by Russian forces on the battlefield nearly four years after the conflict began.
President Zelensky said on Friday that he had discussed U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
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“We are working on a document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that guarantees a real and dignified peace,” the Ukrainian leader wrote to X.
“We are coordinating closely to ensure that our principled stances are taken into account. We have agreed to align our next steps and work together at a level that our teams will respond to.”
Zelensky’s comments came amid media reports that President Trump’s 28-point proposal to end the war supports some of Russia’s key demands and Russia’s war narrative, including ceding additional territory to Ukraine, curbing the size of its military, and banning it from joining NATO.
At the same time, Western countries will lift sanctions against Russia and Russia will be reinvited to join the Group of Eight (G8) from which it was expelled for occupying and annexing Crimea in 2014, AFP news agency said.
I had a joint call with French President @EmmanuelMacron, UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer, and @bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz. I am grateful for their principled support for Ukraine and all its people.
We discussed Ukraine and a peace plan for everyone… pic.twitter.com/Lz6Tq38QUR
— Volodymyr Zelensky / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 21, 2025
Reuters reported on Friday that the Trump administration had threatened to cut intelligence sharing and arms supplies to pressure Kyiv to accept the plan, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Ukraine is under “more pressure from the United States than during previous peace talks,” sources told the station, as the United States wants Ukraine to sign a “framework for an agreement” by next Thursday.
“A dangerous moment for everyone”
Germany, meanwhile, said after its meeting with President Zelensky that Ukraine’s European allies, who were not discussed the US proposal, stressed the need to protect “the vital interests of Europe and Ukraine.”
Mertz, Macron and Starmer welcomed “US efforts” to end the war, which began in February 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
But they promised Ukrainian leaders “unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace.”
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Karas also said that the EU and Ukraine want peace but will not succumb to Russian aggression. “This is a very dangerous moment for everyone,” Karas told reporters.
“We all want this war to end, but how it ends is important. Russia has no legal right to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, it is up to Ukraine to decide what the deal is.”
Reporting from Berlin on Friday, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Cain said that while European leaders are presenting a united front in support of Ukraine, big questions remain about what concessions they would prefer.
“The Germans say their military must be able to defend Ukraine, but what size is acceptable if we actually need to downsize the Ukrainian military? There are a lot of questions here, but no real clarity from European leaders,” Kaine said.
However, he added that the positions of European countries would not be a determining factor in any agreement. “Moscow, Kiev and Washington DC seem to be the capitals where everything is decided.”
fierce battle
As Ukraine faces increasing pressure from the Trump administration to agree to a deal, its military also faces serious challenges on the battlefield and deadly bombing by Moscow.
Rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble after Russia’s missile attack on the western city of Ternopil earlier this week, bringing the death toll to at least 31, Ukrainian officials said.
The strike, which hit residential apartments, injured 94 people, including 18 children.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that about 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers were trapped on the east bank of the Oskir River in the Kharkov region of eastern Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian military.
The report comes as Ukrainian forces seek to repel Russian attempts to capture the eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Mirnohrad, where fighting has raged.
A Russian airstrike on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia late Thursday killed five people and injured three others, emergency services said. Russia is gaining influence in the Zaporizhzhya region, which includes cities in southeastern Ukraine that straddle both banks of the Dnipro River.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the country’s advance into the battlefield should convince Zelenskiy that “it is better to negotiate and implement now rather than later.”
“With the loss of territory, the scope for freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him,” Peskov told reporters.
Jim Townsend, a former senior Pentagon official in charge of European and NATO affairs, said battlefield conditions and the diminishing capabilities of Ukraine’s military as the war drags on add to the pressure Ukraine faces for a deal.
“If the United States stands back and says, ‘If you don’t agree to this, we’re not going to support you,’ there will be a lot of pressure on President Zelenskiy to accept a deal, no matter how difficult it may seem,” Townsend told Al Jazeera.
