OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:16 AM – Friday, November 21, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to President Donald Trump’s peace proposal, which includes Ukraine ceding territory and reducing the size of its military, proclaiming that Kyiv must now choose between a “loss of dignity” or losing the support of the United States.
Zelensky and European allies have been scrambling to respond to a 28-point White House proposal drafted with Russia, which includes numerous concessions Zelensky has previously ruled out on several occasions.
According to a draft of the proposal, which was developed without Ukrainian input, the peace plan would require Ukraine to effectively recognize Russian control over the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including parts currently under Ukrainian control, prohibit Ukraine from pursuing any efforts to join NATO, prohibit NATO troops from entering Ukraine, and limit the Ukrainian army to 600,00 soldiers.
In exchange, the Russia-Ukraine war would cease, and Ukraine would be awarded frozen Russian assets to assist in reconstruction efforts, while also receiving security guarantees from the United States should Russia engage in future aggression.
“The pressure on Ukraine is now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points, or an extremely harsh winter,” Zelensky stated on Friday.
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“The most difficult and further risks are life without freedom, without dignity, without justice, and believing someone who has already attacked us twice,” he continued, noting that Ukraine will “work calmly” with international partners towards a diplomatic resolution to the over three-year war.
“I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, 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,” he added.
According to a former senior Ukrainian official speaking with Fox News, the peace proposal in its current form would amount to “political suicide” for Zelensky, as he would be responsible for “the loss of about one-fifth of Ukraine.”
Khrystyna Hayovyshyn, Ukraine’s Deputy Representative to the United Nations, seemingly outright rejected the proposal, proclaiming that “there will never be any recognition, formal or otherwise, of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as Russian. Our land is not for sale.”
“Ukraine will not accept any limits on its right to self-defense or on the size and capabilities of our armed forces, nor will we tolerate any infringement on our sovereignty, including our sovereign right to choose the alliances we want to join,” she added, taking issue with the proposal calling for Ukraine to give up its NATO aspirations.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Zelensky over the phone on Friday to issue assurances of “their continued and full support on the path to a lasting and just peace.”
“The Ukrainian armed forces must remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine’s sovereignty,” stated German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman, Stefan Kornelius.
“Any agreement affecting European states, the European Union, or NATO requires the consent of European partners or a consensus among allies,” the statement concluded.
Additionally, in Moscow, the Kremlin warned Ukraine to enter negotiations “now” or continue to lose more territory as the war continues to churn into the winter months.
“Room for maneuver regarding decision-making is shrinking as territories are lost,” stated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.
“Continuing is senseless and dangerous for them,” Peskov added, referencing leadership in Kyiv.
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