Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to send Trump administration revised proposals to end the war with Russia

22 minutes agoTue 9 Dec 2025 at 2:57pm

Mr Trump has accused Mr Zelenskyy of not even reading his administration’s proposals. (AP: Evan Vucci)

In short:

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to send the White House a revised plan to end the war with Russia.

The Ukrainian president has said a key adjustment will be ruling out Ukraine’s surrendering of land.

What’s next:

Mr Zelenskyy has also met with Pope Leo, with the pontiff expressing his "urgent desire" for a "just and lasting peace".

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to send the US revised proposals to end Russia’s war, as Ukraine moves to reject plans that would see it give up territory to Moscow.

The Ukrainian president held talks with European leaders in London and Brussels earlier this week, as US President Donald Trump continued to apply pressure on Kyiv to agree a settlement.

Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of not even reading his administration’s proposals.

An initial version was judged by Ukraine’s allies to be overly favourable to Russia.

Mr Zelenskyy said that Washington’s earlier 28-point plan had been reduced to 20 points after US-Ukraine talks at the weekend.

Ukrainian and European officials "are going to work on these 20 points", Mr Zelenskyy told an online press conference on Monday.

"We do not like everything that our partners came back with. Although this issue is not so much with the Americans as with the Russians."

"But we will definitely work on it, and as I said, tomorrow evening (Tuesday) we will do everything to send our view on this to the US."

Washington’s plan involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

Mr Zelenskyy pointed to the land issue and international security guarantees as two of the main sticking points.

"Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,"

Mr Zelenskyy said.

"The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question," he added.

Pope Leo says ending war ‘urgent’

Mr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo at his country residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, and is to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later Tuesday.

Pope Leo "expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace", the Vatican said in a statement after the 30-minute meeting between the two.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo in Italy, on Tuesday. (Reuters: Simone Risoluti)

Ms Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s invasion, although one of her coalition allies, Matteo Salvini’s League party, is more sceptical.

Rome has sent weapons to Ukraine, but only for use inside the country.

Ms Meloni has also ruled out sending troops in a possible monitoring force proposed by Britain and France.

Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since Russia’s invasion in 2022. (Reuters: Yves Herman)

The Italian government last week postponed a decision on renewing military aid to Ukraine, with the current authorisation due to end on December 31.

Mr Salvini has reportedly questioned whether it is necessary in light of current talks.

However, Ms Meloni at the time insisted that "as long as there’s a war, we’ll do what we can, as we’ve always done to help Ukraine defend itself".

EU say Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected

On Monday, the Ukrainian president met in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with British PM Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street on Monday. (Reuters: Toby Melville)

"Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defence for our Union," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after Monday’s meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that "we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction".

Mr Macron said the "main issue" was finding "convergence" between the European-Ukrainian position and that of the United States.

Mr Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelenskyy for not being grateful for US support.

But he was also frustrated that efforts to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war had failed to produce results, and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.

AFP