Trump Insists Zelensky Must Embrace Controversial Ukraine Peace Deal Before Thanksgiving Deadline

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump encouraged Ukraine to accept his administration’s proposal for ending the conflict with Russia, which involves territorial concessions, insisting that Ukraine’s leader would «have to accept it.»

“He’ll have to accept it, and if not, then they should just continue fighting,” Trump remarked to reporters when asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s lukewarm reaction to the proposal.

“At some point, he will need to come to terms with something,” Trump remarked during a meeting in the Oval Office with New York City’s upcoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

Earlier, Zelensky expressed his objections to the U.S. plan, stating he would never “betray” his nation by agreeing to the 28-point document that Kyiv views as overly favorable to the Kremlin.

The 79-year-old Republican has shown his impatience with the ongoing conflict that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is eager to see progress toward a resolution.

On Friday, Trump set a deadline of November 27 — coinciding with the American Thanksgiving holiday — for Ukraine to agree to his administration’s approach to end the war with Russia.

“I’ve imposed many deadlines, but typically, if progress is made, they’re extended. However, we believe Thursday is a fitting timeframe,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News Radio.

According to a draft plan obtained by AFP, Ukraine would need to relinquish a significant amount of its eastern territory to Russia and reduce the size of its military.

Kyiv would also commit to never joining NATO and would not receive the Western peacekeepers it has requested, although European aircraft would be stationed in Poland.

Trump warned that if the fighting were to persist, Ukrainians would ultimately have to concede the territories detailed in his peace framework.

“Say what you want, they were very brave,” he said, praising the Ukrainian forces defending against the Russians.

Responding to queries about the risk of Russia further invading other European nations after its actions in Ukraine, Trump asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not looking for more conflict.”

He added that Putin is currently “facing consequences” for the nearly four-year-long conflict, which, according to Trump, “was supposed to be resolved in one day.”