Ukraine and Russia give guarded response to Trump peace plan

November 21, 2025 Sator Tenet
Ukraine and Russia give guarded response to Trump peace plan

Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyand a senior Russian official offered guarded reactions toPresident Donald Trump's proposalto end Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Speaking in his nightly address on Nov. 20,Zelenskyy saidthat American military officials currently in Ukraine had presented "their vision" for securing a peace deal and that his country was carefully studying the proposals.

"From the first days of the war, we have upheld one very simple position: Ukraine needs peace. A real peace − one not broken by a third invasion," Zelenskyy said, adding that he expected to speak with Trump in the coming days.

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A woman feeds pigeons on the street, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine Oct. 14, 2025. A resident sits in a car as she leaves her apartment building damaged by Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine Oct. 13, 2025. A cat walks on debris in a church damaged by Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine Oct. 13, 2025. A destroyed car lies on a road near apartment buildings damaged by Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine Oct. 13, 2025. Pedestrians exit a subway station in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on Oct. 13, 2025. A resident carries belongings out of a damaged residential building following a Russian strike in the town of Bilozerske, Donetsk region on August 12, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Relatives hug a released prisoner of war wrapped in a Ukrainian national flag upon their arrival after a prisoners exchange in the Chernigiv region on August 14, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine exchanged 84 prisoners each on August 14, 2025, both sides said, the latest in a series of swaps that has seen hundreds of POWs released so far this year. A woman carrying a child visits a memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on Aug. 4, 2025. A Ukrainian serviceman kisses a flag with the brigade insignia during an honorary ceremony of receiving brigade patches in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on August 3, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ceremony is one of many traditions observed by Ukrainian brigades - rituals that strengthen unity and forge a shared sense of identity among service members. A Ukrainian law enforcement officer looks out of a broken window standing inside a destroyed building of the Bilenkivska correctional colony following an air attack in Bilenke, Zaporizhzhia region on July 29, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian airstrike on a prison in southeastern Ukraine overnight killed 17 inmates and wounded dozens of others, Kyiv said on July 29, 2025. People kneel down during the funeral ceremony for Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died while in captivity in Russia, on Independence Square in Kyiv, on August 8, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian rescuers work inside a destroyed residential building after an air attack in Kharkiv, on August 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian drone attack on a five-storey apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early on August 18, 2025 killed at least five people and wounded more than a dozen others, Ukrainian authorities said. An explosion of a drone and tracers are seen in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 17, 2025. A man walks on a snow-covered street during a snowfall, near a Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 14, 2025. Women carry flowers and balloons, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on Valentine's Day in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 14, 2025. A woman pays her respects at a portrait of a fallen Ukrainian serviceman, some of whom worked at Zavallievsky Graphite, amid RussiaÕs attack on Ukraine, in Zavallia, Ukraine on February 10, 2025. A man walks near the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 12, 2025. Resident Natalia collects her granddaughter's toys that were scattered around her home hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine on February 9, 2025. A local resident stands on the destroyed balcony of an apartment in a damaged residential building following a missile attack in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Makiivka, Donetsk region on February 9, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. A local resident walks past a burnt-out car in the courtyard of a damaged residential building following a missile attack in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Makiivka, Donetsk region on February 9, 2025, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Residents ride bicycles near a car destroyed by Russian military strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine on February 6, 2025. An employee sorts clothes at a market which was hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine on February 6, 2025. Relatives, friends and fellow soldiers attend funeral ceremony for Anton Spitsyn, Ukrainian servicemen and co-founder of special purpose unit of Ukrainian firefighters try to put out a fire in a building after a drone strike in Kharkiv on February 5, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian police officers inspect the bodies of killed people in plastic bags at the site of a missile attack in Izyum, Kharkiv region, on February 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian missile attack on February 4, 2025 on the Ukrainian city of Izyum, briefly occupied by Russia in 2022, killed five people and wounded three dozen more, officials said. Rescuers carry the body of a person found under debris at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Poltava, Ukraine on February 1, 2025. A passenger sits next to a fogged up bus window during an unusually warm and foggy winter morning, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine on January 31, 2025. Children hold military equipment displayed during the opening of the 65th Brigade's recruiting center People walk past at a street exhibition displaying destroyed Russian military vehicles, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 25, 2025. Graffiti depicting Russian leader Vladimir Putin hanging by a Ukrainian flag is pictured on a heavily damaged wall of Kostyantynivka train station after it was destroyed by a Russian attack, on January 23, 2025 in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine. Ukraine faces a pivotal moment in its war with Russia as its biggest military ally, the United States, inaugurates a new president and with it a new foreign policy. During his campaign for the US presidency, Donald Trump had promised to end the war on Day One of his term, although he has since walked back his ambitious timeline. A building lies in ruins after being hit by a Russian attack, on January 23, 2025 in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine. Ukraine faces a pivotal moment in its war with Russia as its biggest military ally, the United States, inaugurates a new president and with it a new foreign policy. During his campaign for the US presidency, Donald Trump had promised to end the war on Day One of his term, although he has since walked back his ambitious timeline. A resident examines his flat in an apartment building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on January 23, 2025. A woman walks past an installation made of used ammunition shells, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on January 21, 2025. Cars pass over a new bridge built alongside one that was destroyed during the Russian occupation, on January 21, 2025 in Izyum, Ukraine. Ukraine faces a pivotal moment in its war with Russia as its biggest military ally, the United States, inaugurates a new president and with it a new foreign policy. During his campaign for the US presidency, Donald Trump had promised to end the war on Day One of his term, although he has since walked back his ambitious timeline. Restaurant employees watch the presidential inauguration of US President Donald Trump on television screens in Kyiv, on January 20, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A worker cleans debris outside a McDonald's restaurant that was heavily damaged in an overnight Russian missile strike, on January 18, 2025 in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, Ukraine. Four people were killed and a fire broke out in a non-residential building, according to Kyiv's mayor. Priests and worshippers clear debris inside St. Andrew's Cathedral damaged by Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on January 18, 2025. A member of the White Angel unit of Ukrainian police officers, who evacuate people from the frontline towns and villages, helps an elderly woman, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on February 7, 2025.

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In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the initiative, saying it was not clear whether Zelenskyy's administration was willing to negotiate with his country based on the Trump plan.

"Consultations are not currently under way. There are contacts, of course, but there is no process that could be called consultations," Peskov wrote in hisTelegram channelon Nov. 21.

According to aleaked draftof the plan, Ukraine would be required to give up areas of eastern Ukraine that it still controls, recognize the Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea as Russian, cut the size of its army and pledge not to join the NATO military alliance. Ukraine has repeatedly characterized all of these Russian demands as red lines.

Trump's 28-point plan for Ukraine:read the terms of the proposal

Russia launched its war in Ukraine in 2014, when it occupied Crimea. A full-scale invasion of Ukraine followed in 2022. Russia now controls about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory.

An estimated 3.5 million Ukrainians live under Russian occupation.

TheInstitute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based military affairs research institute, assessed that there are no provisions in the draft peace plan in which Russia makes any concessions. "ISW continues to assess that accepting Russian demands would set conditions for renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine," the institute said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ukraine says it is studying Trump's peace plan to end war

 

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