Washington is reportedly attempting to force Kyiv to sign a peace deal framework as early as Thursday, Nov. 27, by threatening to cut arms aid and intelligence sharing.
The rumors came as Kyiv confirmed the receipt of a draft from US representatives, with media reports suggesting the draft includes 28 points that mirror Kyiv’s capitulation. A top Kyiv official said Ukraine is deliberating over the deal.
Reuters, citing “two people familiar with the matter,” reported Friday that parts of the strategy involve threatening to cut arms aid and intelligence crucial to Kyiv’s defense against Moscow’s invasion.
“They want to stop the war and want Ukraine to pay the price,” one of them said.
The sources also claim Washington is pressing Kyiv to sign the framework for the deal as early as next Thursday, Nov. 27 – also Thanksgiving in the US, adding that Kyiv is under greater pressure than Washington’s previous attempts to broker an end to the war.
The timeline mirrors a US official’s comments to Axios that President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll Driscoll had “agreed on an aggressive timeline for signature” on the deal during their meeting on Thursday.
In March, shortly after the infamous clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the White House, the US temporarily halted arms deliveries and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Kyiv relies heavily on US weaponry and tech support, with Zelensky highlighting the Patriot air-defense systems’ crucial role in countering regular Russian missile strikes on civilian targets. US targeting systems also likely played a key role in Kyiv’s deep strikes inside Russia, earlier reports suggest.
Starving Ukraine of that support would severely undermine Kyiv’s ability to defend itself.
Ties between Kyiv and Washington have fluctuated since Trump’s return to office in early 2025, with Trump intermittently pushing for an end to the Ukraine war, as he had promised before the 2024 elections.
Trump has blamed both Kyiv and Moscow for Russia’s invasion, but his rhetoric has shifted after attempts to appease Moscow and pressure Kyiv fell flat, as Moscow still refused to budge.
During an in-person meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in August, Trump pushed for a direct meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Putin said he was open to the idea but then suggested that Zelensky meet him in Moscow, which Zelensky said is a non-starter.
Trump eventually imposed sanctions on Moscow after Russia showed no sign of relenting, but the ongoing talks suggest another U-turn from the Trump administration, favoring Moscow.
A former Soviet KGB official previously claimed that Trump is a Russian asset, an accusation that has not been substantiated.