Times Getting Harder for Ukraine
December 1, 2025
Once his 28-point peace plan became public knowledge, President Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to accept it. He also said that President Zelensky had little choice but to agree to the plan. “He’ll have to like it. And if he doesn’t like it then they should just keep fighting,” Mr. Trump told reporters. To Ukrainians, this sounded like an ultimatum, and there was a backlash in Europe.
Secretary Rubio said on Twitter that achieving a durable peace will require both sides to make concessions, and that is why the US will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending the war based on input from both sides of the conflict.
A bipartisan group of US senators said that Rubio had told them the 28-point plan was not a US plan but instead a Russian wish list, although the White House and State Department vigorously denied that Rubio had characterized it as such.[i]
And, on November 27, 2025, following the state visit to Kyrgyzstan and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit, Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian journalists.[ii] When asked about the 28-point peace plan, he said:
“Regarding the draft agreement. There was no draft agreement per se; rather, there was a set of issues proposed for discussion and finalization. In general, I have spoken about this on numerous occasions. Prior to my visit to the United States, before the trip to Alaska, we discussed this with American negotiators, and subsequently, a list of 28 potential points for an agreement was formulated. As I have already stated publicly, it was conveyed to us through certain channels, and we examined it. (emphasis added)
“Thereafter, negotiations were held in Geneva between the American and Ukrainian delegations. They, as I understand it, decided among themselves that all these 28 points should be divided into four separate components. All of this was passed on to us.
“In general, we agree that this could form the basis for future agreements. However, it would be inappropriate for me to speak now of any final versions, as these do not exist.”
Thus, the question arises whether Mr. Trump’s remarks served as an ultimatum to Ukraine to accept “the plan”, “a wish list”, or a call to begin negotiations on “a set of issues”, to use Mr. Putin’s words.
What is clear is that, for Moscow, some of the stipulations in the “28-point peace plan” are non-negotiable, whereas others are somewhat open to further discussion. Among the first group are:
- Acceptance of the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
- No membership for Ukraine in NATO.
- No NATO troops in Ukraine.
- “Territorial swaps”, which essentially means ceding the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts to Russia in their entirety. In other words, Russia wants Kyiv to give up territories beyond the current battle lines.
Consequently, the top issues to be negotiated further would be the security guarantees and economic support eventually to be provided to Ukraine, and a broad security arrangement in Europe.
Apparently, the Ukrainian side, supported by the Coalition of the Willing, wishes a ceasefire that would remove the pressure for a “quick deal” and allow time for extensive negotiations. However, this was what Mr. Putin said in his remarks to Russian journalists:
“We are still receiving proposals about ceasing hostilities there, there, and there. When the Ukrainian troops leave the territories they occupy, then the hostilities will cease. If they do not leave, we will achieve it militarily. That’s that.”
He must have been referring to the European “counter-proposal” to the United States’ 28-point Ukraine peace plan, reported by Reuters. The counter-proposal, drafted by Britain, France, and Germany, takes the US plan as its basis but then goes through it point by point with suggested changes and deletions.[iii] It is unlikely to have much of an impact on the Trump administration.
As for continued talks with Washington, probably expressing some frustration also, Mr. Putin said:
“The latest information was brought to my attention yesterday that President Trump had decided that, after all, as previously agreed – and there was such an agreement earlier – the meeting is proposed by the American side to be held in Moscow next week. OK, we are always open. As to who will represent the United States from the American side, this should, of course, be determined by the President of the United States.”
Following yesterday’s talks in Florida, both Secretary Rubio and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov said it was a productive and useful session. The former, in an endeavor to highlight what Ukraine would achieve through peace, also said, “ … our goal here is to end the war, but it’s more than just to end the war. We don’t just want to end the war; we also want to help Ukraine be safe forever so never again will they face another invasion, and equally important, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity.”
With frantic diplomatic negotiations underway, Secretary Rubio reportedly plans to skip the NATO foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday. Thus, he would avoid listening to the European Three once again.
Last Friday, President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, a close ally who has headed Ukraine’s negotiation team at the peace talks, resigned after anti-corruption agents searched his home. Earlier in November, Ukrainian authorities had charged seven individuals in relation to an alleged kickback scheme involving senior energy officials, focusing attention on Kyiv’s battle against corruption. In brief, these are extremely tough times for Mr. Zelensky, who would be obliged to hold elections soon after a peace deal.
In the meantime, Russia is continuing with its attacks on Ukrainian cities causing civilian casualties, and Ukrainian naval drones have hit two oil tankers from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” as they travelled through the Black Sea, prompting the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to draw attention to the serious risks to the safety of navigation, life, property, and the environment in the region. The Ministry also said that Ankara is maintaining its contacts with the relevant parties to prevent the further escalation of the war across the Black Sea, and to avoid any negative impact on Türkiye’s economic interests and activities in the region.
[i] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-peace-plan-ukraine-drew-russian-document-sources-say-2025-11-26/
[ii] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/78571
[iii]https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/full-text-european-counter-proposal-us-ukraine-peace-plan-2025-11-23/
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