Panicked Zelensky makes urgent TV address over

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent TV address to his constituents after U.S. President Donald Trump set a deadline for him to agree to a controversial 28-point peace plan with Russia.

Zelensky called it “one of the most difficult moments in [Ukrainian] history” as he highlighted the Catch-22 scenario offered to him by the deal.

“This is one of the most difficult moments in our history,” he said. “Ukraine now faces a very tough choice: either a loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner. Either a complex 28-point plan, or an extremely harsh winter, the harshest yet, and further risks. A life without freedom, dignity, and justice, while being expected to trust someone who has already attacked us twice.”

Zelensky also pledged to maintain constructive discussions with Washington on Trump’s peace plan, which incorporates a number of concessions on behalf of Ukraine that cross pink traces beforehand established by Zelensky — specifically, giving up land to Russia that the nation annexed when it invaded on Feb. 24, 2022, hoping to purchase the whole former Soviet nation.

It also requires Ukraine to give up almost a third of its army capabilities, which opens it up to additional aggression from its northern neighbor, and blocks it from ever becoming a member of NATO — one thing it has been trying to do for a long time.

Trump provides Zelensky Thanksgiving Day deadline to signal peace deal

Trump reportedly gave Zelensky a seven-day deadline to agree to the phrases of a contentious peace deal with Russia that includes major concessions on Ukraine’s behalf.

The president chosen next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., as the date by which he needs the deal signed, calling it an “appropriate time,” per NewsNation correspondent Libbey Dean.

The peace deal would require Ukraine to cede land to Russia and restrict the scale of Kyiv’s army, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press.

The proposal originated from negotiations between Washington and Moscow that appeared favorable to Russia — which began the battle by invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, hoping to annex the previous Soviet nation.

But Zelensky has said that any deal requiring the cessation of land could be untenable and that he would not agree to any type of proposal that requires such.

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Trump threatens Ukraine with ultimatum

The new deadline outlined by Trump comes after the U.S. president threatened Ukraine with an ultimatum — signal the peace deal or risk dropping intelligence sharing and weapons shipments.

Those phrases have despatched Ukraine into a panic as officers like Zelensky scramble to determine next steps. Does the nation cede land and give up essential army capabilities, thus opening the door to future Russian aggression? Or does Kyiv give up essential arms shipments and intelligence that might help it advance its battle effort against Russia?

It’s nearly a Catch-22 scenario for Zelensky — and he has just seven days to determine how to reply.

What’s in Trump’s 28-point peace plan? 

Trump’s 28-point peace plan contains a aspect settlement that goals to fulfill Ukrainian security issues by stating that a future “significant, deliberate and sustained armed attack” by Russia could be seen as “threatening the peace and security of the transatlantic community.”

The settlement does not, however, obligate the U.S. or its European allies to intervene on Ukraine’s behalf, though it says they’d “determine the measures necessary to restore security.”

It would also bar Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO — one thing it has tried to do for years — and forestall the alliance’s future enlargement altogether, too — that means no other nations might be part of.

That would mark a important victory for Moscow, which views NATO as a menace, and rightly so — the group was created to counter threats from the Soviet Union.

European leaders are of the opinion that the settlement would reward Russian President Vladimir Putin for his aggression and depart him emboldened instead of defeated.

Ukraine, France, Germany and the U.Okay. are even going so far as to draft a counter-proposal to the U.S. plan, which incorporates concessions on behalf of Ukraine that cross pink traces that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had drawn.

The sources who told GWN about the counter-proposal did not define a timeline for it, nor did they focus on potential contents of the plan.

The peace plan also grants Putin land for free that he has striven and failed to annex from Ukraine in the battle. Under the phrases of the deal, Moscow would maintain all of the Eastern Donbas area, though roughly 14% of it stays in Ukrainian fingers.

The draft also opens the door to lifting sanctions against Russia, returning it to what was previously identified as the Group of Eight and basically giving it a stronger place on the world financial stage.

Russia was beforehand booted from the G8, now the G7, after it annexed Crimea in 2014.