Trump sets Christmas deadline for Ukraine peace plan; Hill reaction splits

📌 Key Facts

• President Trump set a Christmas deadline for Ukraine to answer a U.S.-authored peace plan and publicly pressured President Zelensky to “play ball,” saying Russia has the “upper hand,” Ukraine is “losing,” and that Zelensky had not yet read the updated proposal while claiming “his people love it” and that Russia is “fine with it.”
• Multiple reports say the U.S. draft (described as a 20-point plan) includes a contentious proposal that Ukraine cede control of the Donbas (roughly 20% of its territory) and contains disputed terms on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Ukrainian officials and Zelensky have repeatedly said Ukraine has no legal or moral right to cede territory.
• Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin (reported five-hour Kremlin meeting) and have been directly pressing Kyiv; national security adviser Rustem Umerov sent a point-by-point Ukrainian response to Kushner after Kyiv consulted with European partners, amid disputes over the timing of documents sent to Ukraine.
• Ukraine, after consultations with the E3 (France, Germany, U.K.), delivered a detailed response to the U.S. draft and has refined its own proposals to send to U.S. negotiators; Zelensky says he will not give up territory, is willing to consider wartime elections only after a ceasefire and with security/legal adjustments (a 60–90 day window proposed), would accept limited Russian involvement at Zaporizhzhia while retaining Ukrainian and U.S. control, and is willing to cap the military at its current size.
• European leaders met Zelensky in London (U.K. PM Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz) to coordinate responses; leaders urged a “just and lasting” ceasefire backed by robust security guarantees, expressed mixed views (Merz said he was skeptical of some U.S. details and stressed only Ukraine can decide its territory), and senior U.S., Ukrainian and European officials planned further meetings (including a Paris session and virtual allied coordination) to try to finalize terms before the holiday timeline.
• Capitol Hill reaction was split: senators including Chris Van Hollen and Chris Coons criticized the White House deadline while Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick endorsed applying timeline pressure and Rep. Darrell Issa took a pragmatic stance; outgoing U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg said negotiators are in the “last 10 meters” with two outstanding issues — primarily the Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
• The U.K. signaled readiness to enforce a ceasefire if a deal is clinched: Defense Secretary John Healey said Britain could deploy troops, jets and ships and has had roughly 200 military planners working with more than 30 nations to prepare multinational enforcement options, while U.S. security guarantees tied to any deal would be sent to Congress for approval.
• Russia’s public posture remains maximalist in parts — Putin reiterated demands tied to control of Donbas or Ukrainian withdrawal, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that Ukraine cannot join NATO and said misunderstandings were resolved after Putin’s meeting with U.S. envoys — even as the Kremlin (via spokesman Dmitry Peskov) welcomed the Trump administration’s new national security strategy framing dialogue and cooperation; some reporting also references an earlier broader U.S.–Russia draft that included long-term economic cooperation components.

📰 Sources (18)