Zelensky ‘Agrees’ To Engage On US Plan To End War, Features Territorial Concessions

At this point Axios, the Financial Times, the NY Times, and Ukrainian regional media have all said that the new peace plan being ‘secretly’ pushed by the Trump administration contains significant territorial concessions. Additionally, there are reportedly stipulations that would see Ukraine scale back its armed forces, stop receiving some Western weapons, and stops hosting all foreign troops.

A source has also told RBC-Ukraine that a key provision is that the Ukrainian government commits to a formal refusal for future NATO membership. The same report said things are taken further, as Russian officials and troops would receive amnesty for all wartime crimes.

Additionally, international and US-led sanctions would reportedly be lifted on Moscow, paving the way for Russia’s return to the global economy.

The US-proposed 28-point peace plan would cede control of the eastern Donbas to Russia, but other partially controlled territories like Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions would see concessions made by Russia.

As we featured previously, Kremlin officials have finally said their position is being ‘heard’ – especially given this is the first time Washington appears to be getting serious about pushing territorial concessions. 

The plan appears to have been primarily drafted by President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev – but so far the Zelensky government has expressed dismay that it is being cut out of the process.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since written on X that achieving a “durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions.”

He acknowledged current talks are all about consulting both sides in order to “develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war.”

On Thursday US Army and top Pentagon representatives are in the Ukrainian capital in an effort to pressure the Zelensky government into engaging in talks on the US-Moscow peace plan:

Senior Pentagon officials have arrived in Ukraine to “discuss efforts to end the war” with Russia, the US military has said.

The team, led by US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, held talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Thursday morning. They are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later in the day.

But it remains that Zelensky has throughout the war consistently rejected any proposal which features territorial concessions. He is supported especially be Ukrainian hardliners, both in the military and in parliament. 

⚡#BREAKING Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the matter: Zelensky received signals from the United States that he must accept the agreement reached in consultation with Moscow. pic.twitter.com/Py7hzBipx0

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 20, 2025

However, fresh news headlines say Zelensky has expressed ‘openness’ to working with this framework:

• ZELENSKIY: UKRAINE IS READY TO WORK WITH US, EUROPE FOR PEACE
• ZELENSKIY SAYS HE AGREED TO WORK ON US DRAFT PLAN TO END WAR
• OIL TURNS NEGATIVE AS ZELENSKIY SIGNALS OPENNESS TO PEACE TALKS

But already (and somewhat predictably) European hawks are chiming in negatively, urging Kiev against any ‘compromise’ with Moscow. “EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that for any plan to work, it would need to have Ukrainians and their European allies on board,” BBC writes.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has seconded this viewpoint, saying “the Ukrainians do not want any form of capitulation.”