The United States is urging Ukraine to accept the broad outlines of a U.S.-brokered peace framework with Russia within the coming week, and has warned that critical military and intelligence assistance could be scaled back if Kyiv refuses, according to two sources familiar with the talks speaking to Reuters.
One source said the Trump administration wants Ukraine to endorse the basic terms by next Thursday. If that timeline holds, it would be Washington’s strongest move yet to shape Ukraine’s negotiating position at a moment when its situation on the battlefield is under growing strain.
Responding to the Reuters report, Kira Rudik—a lawmaker from Ukraine’s opposition Golos party—told Newsweek that U.S. pressure on Kyiv is not new, but argued Ukraine is not the obstacle to ending the war. “Up till this point, we have seen our American partners putting different kinds of pressure onto Ukraine, however, it is not Ukraine that is standing in the way to peace,” she said.
Why It Matters
The reported ultimatum signals a sharper turn in Washington’s effort to force momentum toward talks after more than two-and-a-half years of full-scale war.
What To Know
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on November 20 to discuss steps toward a possible agreement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday, according to Reuters. Driscoll was accompanied by other senior U.S. military officials. One of the sources told Reuters that the U.S. team was focused on ending the war quickly and expected Ukraine to accept difficult terms.
Reuters also reported that the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the Army public affairs chief traveling with the delegation described the talks as productive, adding that Washington was pushing for an “aggressive timeline” to finalize a document between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Trump’s proposed 28-point peace plan would end the Russia-Ukraine war by recognizing Moscow’s control over parts of eastern Ukraine, including the Donbas region, while offering security guarantees to Ukraine and Europe. The draft also reportedly includes limits on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces, a commitment that NATO will not expand to include Ukraine, and economic incentives for Russia such as a path back to global markets.
The proposal has drawn harsh criticism from Ukrainian officials and advocacy groups, who say it amounts to surrender because it trades territory for uncertain security and could weaken Ukraine’s defenses. European partners have raised concerns about being sidelined in the process, while Russian officials have signaled optimism about the framework.
Rudik said Trump has not secured even the first building block of peace from Vladimir Putin—a ceasefire. She added that Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire and has met White House demands, including the rare-minerals deal, yet still faces intensified pressure. “We didn’t choose to capitulate in 2022. We are not doing it right now. And moving forward, we would need our European partners to play a stronger role,” Rudik said.
Zelensky has not rejected the U.S. framework outright, but the Reuters report highlights rising pressure on his government.
Richard Gardiner, a senior analyst at security and intelligence firm S-RM, told Newsweek on Friday that the timing leaves Kyiv boxed in. Zelensky is contending with a major corruption scandal at home, Russia continues to advance in the east, and sustained strikes on energy infrastructure are testing Ukraine’s air defenses. Introducing a high-stakes deal in this context, Gardiner said, “adds to that strain.”
He warned that accepting the plan as written could spark a domestic backlash. “It would cross several red lines for Kyiv,” Gardiner said, and without an imminent Russian strategic breakthrough, Ukraine’s leadership may decide it is better to hold out—even if territorial losses continue at the current pace—than to accept terms viewed as unacceptable.
What People Are Saying
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday: “It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides and we’re working very hard to get it done.”
Zelensky wrote on X on Friday: “We are working to ensure that Ukraine’s national interests are taken into account at every level of our relations with partners. Right now, there are meetings, calls, and work on the points practically every hour—provisions that can change a lot. It is important that the outcome be a dignified peace.”
What Happens Next
Ukrainian leaders and key European governments have scheduled urgent calls and are expected to coordinate further at the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa as they weigh their response to the U.S. proposal.
