Bombay Durpun - Ukraine, Europe scramble to respond to US plan to end war

President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime MInister Keir Starmer met Saturday on the the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency said.

The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, the presidency said.

Starmer had earlier said the aim was to "look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations".

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the allies should make it clear "that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."

US Vice President JD Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, saying it "either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground."

"There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand," he added.

Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump's proposal.

A top Ukrainian official on Saturday said Kyiv would launch talks with the US in Switzerland to discuss ways to end the war. The delegation will be led by Zelensky's top aide Andriy Yermak.

Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.

Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, as Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure.

This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.

US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to sign. Zelensky pledged to work to ensure any deal would not "betray" Ukraine's interests, acknowledging he risked losing Washington as an ally.

- 'He'll have to like it' -

Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, under a draft of the plan seen by AFP.

Putin said the blueprint could "lay the foundation" for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.

"Ukraine and its European allies are still living under illusions and dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield," Putin said in a televised meeting with his security council.

If Kyiv walks away, Russia claimed its recent recapturing of the Ukrainian city Kupiansk "will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front line", Putin added.

The Ukrainian army denies Russia has retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested back.

Trump said that November 27 -- when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving -- was an "appropriate time" to set for Zelensky to agree a deal, but he indicated it could be flexible.

"He'll have to like it, and if he doesn't like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting," Trump told reporters. "At some point he's going to have to accept something."

- 'Loss of dignity' -

Earlier this week, Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks this year and one of the worst on western Ukraine since the invasion.

Thirty-two people died in the western city of Ternopil after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks.

To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as "de facto" Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region.

Ukraine would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no NATO troops deployed to its territory.

"The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner," Zelensky said in his address.

K.Williams--BD