President Donald Trump said Saturday that his administration’s peace proposal for Ukraine and Russia is “not my last offer,” telling reporters after a question from NBC News: “We have to end it somehow.”
Trump added that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not agree to the peace plan, “he can keep fighting with his little heart.”
Earlier this week, Trump said he wants Zelenskyy — who has been hesitant about the proposal — to accept the peace plan before Thanksgiving.
Key points of the proposal include allowing Russia to retain more Ukrainian territory than it currently holds, forcing Ukraine to limit the size of its military and agreeing that Ukraine will never join NATO.
Ukrainian lawmakers have criticized the plan as giving too much to Russia’s demands, although the Trump administration has said the 28-point plan was drawn up with input from both sides of the conflict.
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity, or risking losing an important partner, or the difficult 28 points, or a very difficult winter,” Zelenskyy said in a video about the plan earlier this week.
Several US lawmakers, including in Trump’s own party, have also expressed concerns about the plan.
“While there are many good ideas in the proposed Russia-Ukraine peace plan, there are several areas that are highly problematic and could be improved. The goal of any peace agreement is to end the war in an honorable and just manner – and not create a new conflict,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in a message on X Saturday morning. Later, the South Carolina senator posted that he was confident Trump would reach a peace deal by putting pressure on both countries and ensuring that Ukraine remains free and can defend itself against future aggression.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., wrote in his own X-post On Friday, he said that “this so-called ‘peace plan’ has real problems, and I am deeply skeptical that it will bring peace.”
He added: “Ukraine should not be forced to cede its country to one of the world’s most egregious war criminals, Vladimir Putin. The size and disposition of the Ukrainian armed forces is a sovereign choice for the government and the people. And any guarantees given to Putin should not reward his malign behavior or undermine the security of the United States or allies.”
The proposal includes a security guarantee with a commitment that U.S. and European allies of Ukraine would treat any future attack on Ukraine as an attack on the broader transatlantic community, a U.S. official told NBC News, with few additional details on what the commitment would entail.
Ukrainian leaders are not the only ones expressing concerns about the plan. On the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, European leaders said the proposal, if approved, “could leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.”
That was a key point in a statement signed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Geneva on Sunday to meet with a Ukrainian delegation to advance peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, two US officials said.
According to these officials, a separate meeting with a Russian delegation at another location is being considered in the coming days.
Rubio and Witkoff will join Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who arrived earlier Saturday along with the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Ambassador Julie Davis. Driscoll traveled to Kiev this past week to meet with Zelenskyy.
“Secretary Driscoll and his team have just landed in Geneva to work on the next steps toward achieving peace in Ukraine,” a US official said.
Zelenskyy confirmed the details of the meeting a message on Xin which he said he had spoken to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday.
“Tomorrow our advisors will work in Switzerland – representatives from Ukraine, the United States and the E3 format, namely Great Britain, France and Germany. The vast majority of European leaders are ready to help and get involved. Consultations are underway at different levels, and the efforts of all those seeking a real and lasting issue of peace,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Trump made quickly ending the ongoing war in Ukraine a key promise of his 2024 campaign. So far this year, he has met with Zelenskyy several times and hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit in Alaska.
Russian leaders, including Putin, have praised the peace proposal, with Putin saying that if Ukraine does not sign the deal, Russia would end the war “by military means, through armed struggle.”
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