Trump is intensifying his push for a peace accord at a particularly sensitive time for Zelenskyy — who is battling to contain a swirling corruption scandal — and that is part of the point. U.S. officials think Zelenskyy’s weakness at home will make it more likely that he will agreee to their terms.
Zelenskyy himself said on Friday that his country is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history and may be forced to choose between losing its “dignity” and losing “a key partner.”
Thursday deadline
Putin meanwhile has backed Trump’s deal, which includes unfreezing Russian assets currently held in Europe, and preparing the way for potentially lucrative reconstruction work from which America would profit. The U.S. proposal also suggests future Russian-American projects would flow from the peace.
In another irritation to Brussels, Hungary’s Putin-friendly leader, Viktor Orbán, also backed the U.S. plan.
It’s not clear what happens if Ukraine does not sign up to the deal by Trump’s Thursday deadline. European officials note that Trump has frequently imposed deadlines — on Putin as well as on trade partners — only for these to pass without consequences. One suggestion is that America could cut off its intelligence sharing support for Ukraine’s military, which Trump has done before, before restoring it again.
Europeans are dismayed that they — and Ukraine — have so far been completely cut out of Trump’s work on the draft peace accord, which his envoy Steve Witkoff drew up. EU officials insist that since Europe is now a much bigger donor than the U.S. to Ukraine’s military effort it must not be ignored in any negotiations.
More importantly for von der Leyen, Starmer and the rest of the leaders, there cannot be a deal done over Zelenskyy’s head. European officials and former officials have described the 28-point plan as “scandalous” and said Witkoff needs “a psychiatrist” if he thinks it will fly.
This article has been updated.