In the wake of a fresh US proposal on ending Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is facing growing pressure from the Trump administration to swiftly accept a peace plan that includes major territorial concessions to Russia, according to Axios. Unnamed Ukrainian officials said the latest American push demands Kyiv agree to terms that heavily favor Moscow, while the US continues to apply less pressure on Russia.
Trump team pushes Kyiv for fast approval
A Ukrainian official told Axios that after Trump's advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin for five hours last week, the US position worsened. The same official said the American team then held a two-hour phone call with Zelenskyy on 6 December, where they pushed hard for a clear "yes" from him.
"It felt like the US was trying to sell us in different ways the Russian desire to take the whole of Donbas and that the Americans wanted Zelenskyy to accept all of it in the phone call," the official told Axios.
The Donbas is a historic industrial region that includes both Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. Many Ukrainian and Western media mistakenly use the term as a synonym for Donetsk Oblast, which has been specifically referenced on multiple occasions in Russia’s demands.
Trump criticizes Zelenskyy for not reading peace proposal as Ukrainian leader pivots to Europe
The phone call followed three days of intensive discussions between Kushner, Witkoff and Zelenskyy’s advisers in Miami. While both US and Ukrainian sources confirmed that some progress had been made, no breakthroughs occurred — particularly on the two most contentious issues: Russia’s demand for full control of Donetsk Oblast, and Ukraine’s request for strong, enforceable US security guarantees.
Kyiv questions proposal timing and terms
Zelenskyy reportedly told Kushner and Witkoff that he hadn’t read the full proposal yet because he received it only an hour before the call. A US official disputed this, telling Axios the documents had been sent the previous day. A Ukrainian official clarified that while some parts came earlier, other key elements were transmitted just before the call.
Ukrainian officials said the new proposal included tougher territorial demands and did not resolve major questions about guarantees. The updated text also raised issues around who would control specific areas, where troops would stay or withdraw, and how to ensure Russia doesn’t resume hostilities if Ukraine pulls back from the contact line.
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Still, Kyiv claims the US team seemed to expect Zelenskyy to approve the deal by phone. A US official rejected this characterization, saying the draft was shaped by significant Ukrainian input and that Kushner and Witkoff had also pressured Putin to accept some of Ukraine’s positions.
Speaking to reporters on 8 December, Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine and its European partners would deliver an updated counterproposal to the US on 9 December. He underlined the key sticking point:
“Russia insists that we give up territory. We do not want to give anything up. That is exactly what we are fighting for. The Americans are currently looking for a compromise.”
Two Ukrainian officials said the latest US offer on guarantees is broader than previous ones, but still does not include a Senate-ratified treaty.
