Ukraine faces 'difficult choice' as Donald Trump demands acceptance of peace plan

'DIGNITY AND FREEDOM OF UKRAINIANS'

Zelenskiy, in a solemn speech to the nation delivered earlier on Friday in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses, appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.

"Now is one of the most difficult moments of our history... Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice — either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner," he said.

"I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked – the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians," Zelenskiy said.

The United States has threatened to cut off intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to Ukraine if it does not accept the deal, the two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to disclose the contents of private meetings.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a senior U.S. official later said it was not accurate to say the U.S. threatened to withhold intelligence.

Putin, in televised comments to senior officials, said Kyiv was against the U.S. plan but said neither it nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy held a phone call on Friday with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France, and later spoke to U.S. Vice President JD Vance. He said he had agreed with Vance to have their advisers work "to find a workable path to peace".

In his public remarks, Zelenskiy has appeared careful not to reject the U.S. plan or to offend the Americans.

"We value the efforts of the United States, President Trump, and his team aimed at ending this war. We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace," he said.

But Kyiv has rejected the plan's terms in the past as capitulation, and a deal on that basis could test the stability of Ukrainian society after nearly four years of relentless warfare.

"Russia gets everything it wants and Ukraine gets not very much. If Zelenskiy accepts this, I anticipate huge political, social and economic instability in Ukraine," said Tim Ash of Britain's Chatham House think tank.

'A VERY DANGEROUS MOMENT'

Three sources told Reuters that Ukraine was working on a counter-proposal to the 28-point plan with Britain, France and Germany. The Europeans have not been consulted on the U.S. plan and have expressed strong support for Kyiv.

"We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded," said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. "This is a very dangerous moment for all."

U.S. officials, defending their plan, have said it was drafted after consultations with Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, a close Zelenskiy ally who served as defence minister until July.

Umerov "agreed to the majority of the plan, after making several modifications, and presented it to President Zelenskiy," a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

Umerov denied agreeing to any of the plan's terms and said he had played only a technical role organising talks.

RUSSIA'S DEMANDS SPELLED OUT, KYIV'S LEFT VAGUE

The plan would require Ukraine to withdraw from territory it still controls in eastern provinces that Russia claims to have annexed, while Russia would give up smaller amounts of land it holds in other regions.

Ukraine would be permanently barred from joining the NATO military alliance, and its armed forces would be capped at 600,000 troops. NATO would agree never to station troops there.

Sanctions against Russia would be gradually lifted, Moscow would be invited back into the G8 group of industrialised countries and frozen Russian assets would be pooled in an investment fund, with Washington given some of the profits.

One of Ukraine's main demands, for enforceable guarantees equivalent to NATO's mutual defence clause to deter Russia from attacking again, is dealt with in a single line with no details: "Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees".

Trump has accepted some of Russia's justifications for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine while also expressing some impatience with Moscow.

Last month he cancelled a proposed summit with Putin and imposed sanctions on Russia's two main oil companies, set to come into full effect on Friday, Washington's deadline for foreign buyers to wind down Russian oil purchases.

Trump said on Friday he expected the "powerful" sanctions to have their intended effect on Russia, adding: "Their whole economy is based on oil". He said he would not remove the sanctions before implementation of the 28-point plan.