Zelensky and Vance discussed U.S. peace plan for Ukraine
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Zelensky, Trump and Vance in the Oval Office in February. Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Vice President Vance on Friday about the U.S. proposed peace plan for Ukraine, according to two sources with knowledge.
Why it matters: The call was the highest-level engagement between the U.S. and Ukraine about the new plan. Zelensky told the Trump administration he's ready to negotiate, but President Trump wants a signature by Thanksgiving.
The latest: Trump made that remark on Fox News Radio, telling Brian Kilmeade: "I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines. But Thursday it is."
- Trump's 28-point plan for peace in Ukraine would force Kyiv to give up additional territory in the east, agree it will never join NATO and accept full amnesty for Russians who committed alleged war crimes.
- Trump told Kilmeade that Ukraine was already on track to lose that territory "in a short period of time" and he wants "to stop the bloodbath."
- Russia has thus far failed to make the sort of large-scale territorial gains required to take all the land Trump's plan cedes to Moscow. But U.S. officials insist the military picture will only get worse for Ukraine.
- On the other hand, the plan includes an unprecedented security guarantee from the U.S. and Europe modeled on NATO's Article 5, which would commit the U.S. and European allies to treat an attack on Ukraine as an attack on the entire "transatlantic community."
Driving the news: Zelensky and his European allies are coordinating and closing ranks regarding the new U.S. plan.
- The Ukrainian president held a conference call on Friday morning with the leaders of Germany, France and the U.K. to discuss the plan.
- "We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace. We are coordinating closely to make sure that the principled stances are taken into account," Zelensky wrote on X.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after the call that he welcomes the U.S. commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and its willingness to give Ukraine a robust security guarantee.
- "The contact line must remain the basis for any talks" on ending the war in Ukraine, he stressed, effectively pushing back on the U.S. position on territorial concessions.
