Zelensky and several European leaders are now racing to revise key elements of a US peace proposal ahead of a Nov. 27 deadline, hoping to make the plan more acceptable to Kyiv.
European governments are scrambling to buy Ukraine more time after the Trump administration set the Thanksgiving cutoff, pushing Kyiv to respond to the 28-point framework circulated this week.
According to officials cited by Bloomberg, the European strategy is delicate: rewrite large sections of the proposal while presenting the changes as “constructive updates” rather than outright opposition.
At the same time, the Trump administration is preparing to brief European allies on its peace blueprint for the first time this Sunday, Kyiv Post has learned from diplomatic sources – a move that signals Washington is entering a more assertive phase in its push to secure a deal.
Normally, US envoy Marco Rubio would participate, but sources said Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll may take the lead instead.
Senior national-security advisers from the UK, Germany, France, and Ukraine are expected to meet with Driscoll – most likely in London – for what multiple Western officials describe as a “make-or-break” round of quiet diplomacy.
The goal is to explore whether a path toward peace talks exists before winter deepens the crisis.
Driscoll briefed European diplomats earlier this week, warning that a deal had to be done sooner rather than later. He reportedly told them that “President Trump wanted a peace deal now.”
Trump himself seemed to take a hard line when asked about the plan, saying, “He’ll have to like it – and if he doesn’t like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting I guess,” referring to Zelensky.
However, Trump also suggested some flexibility on the timeline, saying in a Fox News Radio interview that while Nov. 27 is “an appropriate point for a decision,” deadlines could be extended “if things are working well.”
The US-proposed plan would require Ukraine to recognize Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk as effectively under Russian control, hold elections within 100 days, give up NATO membership ambitions, and reduce its military. Sanctions on Moscow would also be phased out over time.
US Republicans have criticized the plan. Senator Roger Wicker called it “highly problematic” and said Ukraine “should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv would work “together with America and Europe” to strike a peace deal after an hour-long phone conversation with US Vice President JD Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Friday.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Russia-US peace plan could “form the basis for a final peace settlement.”
Still, again accused Kyiv of blocking peace, claiming it was the US, not Russia, that proposed the latest agreement.