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Donald Trump maintains the plan is not final, but wants Kyiv to respond next week
Namita Singh,Bryony Gooch,James C. ReynoldsSunday 23 November 2025 07:20 GMTComments
CloseStarmer says he 'expects to talk to Trump in the coming days' on US peace plan for Ukraine
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US senators have accused Donald Trump of advancing a Ukraine peace proposal that reflects Russian priorities, a claim rejected by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and the State Department.
Senators Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Mike Rounds told reporters at a security forum in Canada that Rubio privately described the 28-point document as a Russian “wish list” and “not the administration’s plan” during calls he made while travelling to Geneva for talks.
Senator Rounds said the text “looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with”, insisting: “This administration was not responsible for this release in its current form. They want to utilise it as a starting point.”
A State Department spokesperson called the senators’ account “blatantly false”.
Rubio later wrote on X that Washington had authored the proposal, saying it served as “a strong framework for ongoing negotiations”, drawing on input from both Moscow and Kyiv.
The dispute comes as Sir Keir Starmer and Trump agreed during a call that their teams would coordinate ahead of talks in Geneva.
The prime minister earlier assured president Volodymyr Zelensky of Britain’s “steadfast support for Ukraine”. Trump maintains the plan is not final but wants Kyiv to respond next week. Zelensky has pledged not to “betray his country” while offering alternatives to the Kremlin-backed terms.
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Key Points
- Western leaders say Ukraine plan needs work, Trump signals scope for changes
- Trump gives Ukraine a tight deadline
- Ukraine’s allies rally around Zelensky ahead of crunch talks as Trump offers lifeline to Kyiv
- US senators say Rubio told them Trump's Ukraine peace plan is Russia's 'wish list'
- What happens next?
Comment: There is only one thing Europe and Ukraine can do with Trump’s ‘peace’ ultimatum
Trump’s America is falling into autocracy and advocates for Russian victory in Ukraine - it’s time the West saw this and dealt with it, Sam Kiley, The Independent's world affairs editor explains how
Trump’s ‘peace’ ultimatum leaves Europe and Ukraine with just one choice
Trump’s America is falling into autocracy and advocates for Russian victory in Ukraine – it’s time the West saw this and dealt with it. Sam Kiley, world affairs editor, explains howNamita Singh23 November 2025 07:20Ukraine’s allies rally around Zelensky ahead of crunch talks as Trump offers lifeline to Kyiv
Allies of Ukraine rallied around its defiant wartime leader on Saturday as they pushed to revise a suspect peace proposal touted by the United States.
European leaders met in South Africa to review their options after US president Donald Trump set Kyiv a deadline of next Thursday to agree to terms seen as appeasing some of Russia’s most hardline demands.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke with Trump late on Saturday after expressing how leaders were concerned that the current deal would not give Ukraine the means to defend itself, requiring a cap on the military and no Nato membership or peacekeepers.
Read more in this report:
Ukraine’s allies rally around Zelensky ahead of crunch talks in Geneva
European leaders are meeting in South Africa to discuss alternatives to a US plan to end Russia’s war in UkraineNamita Singh23 November 2025 07:00Republican lawmaker slams Trump over Ukraine and warns of damaged ‘legacy’: ‘First to surrender’
Nebraska Republican representative Don Bacon lambasted Donald Trump over his proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, warning it could be the president’s “legacy”.
The president’s 28-point peace plan has been criticised as being favourable to Moscow, demanding Kyiv cede additional territory, limit the size of its military, and agree to never join Nato.
Trump has asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to accept the proposal by Thanksgiving.
Bacon was one of several GOP lawmakers to criticise the peace plan.
“They’re pushing a surrender plan on Ukraine and one that will keep Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks in the decades to come. It looks like Russia wrote it,” he wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
Report:
Republican lawmaker slams Trump over Ukraine and warns of damaged ‘legacy’
‘It looks like Russia wrote it,’ the Tennessee lawmaker said of the Trump administration’s peace planNamita Singh23 November 2025 06:30Who is Kirill Dmitriev? The blacklisted Kremlin official behind Trump’s Ukraine peace plan
PresidentDonald Trump’s 28-point peace proposal for Ukraine is facing criticism amid claims it skews heavily in Vladimir Putin’s favour.
Trump has given Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky until Thursday to accept the deal, which would cede territory to Moscow, take Nato off the table for Ukraine and allow Russia back into the G8.
As Zelensky faces a difficult choice, US officials and lawmakers have expressed their concern about Russian involvement in the plan after it was revealed the administration had held meetings with a blacklisted Kremlin official beforehand.
Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Putin, is the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and assumed the office of the special presidential envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation on 23 February this year despite little diplomatic experience, writes Bryony Gooch.
The blacklisted Kremlin official behind Trump’s ‘pro-Russia’ peace plan for Ukraine
Born in Soviet-era Kyiv, Kirill Dmitriev is a key ally of Vladimir Putin and has been involved behind-the-scenes with the US plan for UkraineNamita Singh23 November 2025 06:00Trump gives Ukraine a tight deadline
On Friday, Donald Trump threw down the gauntlet to Ukraine, saying Volodymyr Zelensky had until Thursday to approve his 28-point plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join Nato.
"He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess," he said.
"At some point he's going to have to accept something he hasn't accepted."
Recalling their fractious February meeting with Zelensky, Trump added: "You remember right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, 'You don't have the cards'."
In their statement, Western leaders said they were "concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine's armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack".
"We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to Nato would need the consent of EU and Nato members respectively."
At Sunday's meeting in Geneva, European nations are keen to suggest changes to Trump's plan, which Russian president Vladimir Putin described as the basis of a resolution to the conflict.
Namita Singh23 November 2025 05:30Leaders adopt ‘lion-like spirit’ in talks about peace plan
"There are many things that cannot simply be an American proposal, which requires broader consultation," said French president Emmanuel Macron, adding that an agreement had to allow for peace for Ukrainians and "security for all Europeans".
On Friday Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv faced a choice of either losing its dignity and freedom or Washington's backing. He appealed to Ukrainians for unity.
That signal prompted European leaders to rally.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with Turkey's president following their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on 19 November 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)A German government source said they had met in a room in Johannesburg called "lion" and that the leaders had adopted the animal's "spirit" in talks to seek a better deal for Ukraine.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz underlined the importance to Europe of supporting Ukraine.
"If Ukraine loses this war and possibly collapses, it will have an impact on European politics as a whole, on the entire European continent. And that is why we are so committed to this issue," Merz said on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
"There is currently an opportunity to end this war, but we are still quite a long way from a good outcome for everyone."
On Saturday, leaders of eight Nordic and Baltic nations said they had spoken with Zelensky and pledged to keep supplying arms.
In a joint statement, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden said: "Solutions that respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and that will bring Ukraine and Europe greater security and stability have our full support."
Zelensky appealed to his country for unity.
Namita Singh23 November 2025 05:10Draft meets measured criticism
The European and other Western leaders agreed that national security advisers from the E3 - France, Britain and Germany - would meet European Union, US and Ukrainian officials in Geneva on Sunday for further discussions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was en route to Geneva late on Saturday for the talks, a State Department official said.
Italy would also send an official, diplomatic sources said.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, France's president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz during the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (PA Wire)Washington's plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was met with measured criticism from many US allies. Leaders sought to balance praise for Trump's attempt to end the fighting with recognition that some terms in his proposal are unpalatable for Kyiv.
"The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace," said the leaders of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway.
"We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work," they said in a statement.
Namita Singh23 November 2025 04:50Western leaders say Ukraine plan needs work, Trump signals scope for changes
Western leaders said on Saturday that a peace plan proposed by the United States can be a basis for talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine but needs "additional work", part of Western efforts to eke out a better deal for Kyiv before a Thursday deadline.
Meeting on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in South Africa, European and other Western leaders scrambled to come up with a coordinated response to US president Donald Trump's demand for Ukraine to accept his 28-point plan by Thursday.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and France's president Emmanuel Macron during a trilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (Leon Neal/PA Wire)Trump said in brief remarks on Saturday that his proposal was not his final offer, signalling potential room for adjustments as Ukraine and its European allies stressed that the plan could serve as a foundation for negotiations but required changes.
Namita Singh23 November 2025 04:33Trump officials’ meeting with Russian officials in Miami spurs questions about Ukraine proposal
US officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under US sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia's largest sovereign wealth funds.
A close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev has taken a leading role in talks with the US about the war and has met with Witkoff several times this year.
The Trump administration has issued a special waiver to allow his entry, one senior US official told Reuters.
Dmitriev and RDIF were blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively bar American citizens and companies from dealing with them.
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public earlier this week by Axios, came as a surprise to US officials in various corners of the administration and has stirred confusion at embassies throughout Washington and in European capitals.
It has also prompted criticism from the Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowing on Friday that he would not betray Ukraine's interests.
The document, which calls for major concessions from Ukraine, appears to run counter to the tougher stance the Trump administration has lately taken toward Moscow, including sanctions on its energy sector.
It is unclear whether Dmitriev came to the meeting in Miami with certain Russian demands and whether those were incorporated into the peace plan.
Namita Singh23 November 2025 04:07The US peace deal for Ukraine is just setting the scene for Putin’s next war
Ukraine is being asked to give up land and forget the appalling violence that it has suffered, writes Bob Seely.
But peace is the last thing on Putin’s mind – winning in Ukraine and then humiliating the West remain his goals:
The US peace deal for Ukraine is just setting the scene for Putin’s next war
Ukraine is being asked to give up land and forget the appalling violence that it has suffered, writes Bob Seely. But peace is the last thing on Putin’s mind – winning in Ukraine and then humiliating the West remain his goalsJames Reynolds23 November 2025 03:10Newer1 / 4OlderMore about
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