Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting with Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen, September 27, 2025

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Can Ukraine and Europe Push Back the Trump-Kremlin Plan?

EA on WION: The Trump-Kremlin Plan for Ukraine’s Capitulation

Thursday’s Coverage: Trump-Kremlin Plan for Capitulation of Kyiv

UPDATE 2033 GMT:

The European Union has imposed sanctions against Russian prison officials responsible for the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna.

Roshchyna was seized as she was reporting on Russia’s systematic detention and torture in occupied parts of Ukraine. She died at the age of 27 in 2024 after more than a year in Russian captivity. Her body, with evidence of torture, was returned earlier this year with some of the internal organs missing.

The sanctions list includes senior officials from the prison in the Rostov region in southwest Russia. European officials say the men bear responsibility for the torture and deaths of 15 detainees.

UPDATE 2024 GMT:

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has posted, after a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky:

We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.

Today we have discussed the current situation and we are clear that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

UPDATE 1841 GMT:

Donald Trump said in a radio interview that he thinks that the Thanksgiving holiday is an appropriate deadline for Ukraine to accept the Trump-Kremlin demands for its capitulation.

“I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines. But Thursday is we think is an appropriate time,” he told Fox Radio.

UPDATE 1832 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has followed up his video address with a series of calls, including with US Vice President J.D. Vance and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

Zelensky also conferred with NATO head Mark Rutte and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.

UPDATE 1730 GMT:

In a video address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine is facing “one of the most difficult moments of its history” with the choice “of losing a major partner [in the US] or Ukraine’s dignity”.

Zelensky said he would work “constructively” with the US to amend the Trump-Kremlin deal so Russia cannot argue that Kyiv does not want peace.

But the President assured he “will never betray” Ukraine’s Constitution: “The national Ukrainian interest must be taken into account.”

He praised the heroism of the Ukrainian people while noting the “unimaginable pressure” of Russia’s attacks: “We are, of course, made of steel. But any metal, even the strongest, may not withstand it.”

Still, he emphasized with a reference to the initial days of Russia’s full-scale invasion: “We did not betray Ukraine then, we will not do it now,” he says.“

UPDATE 1607 GMT:

After a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have pledged firm backing for Kyiv over the Trump-Kremlin plan.

While they “welcomed the US efforts to end the war in Ukraine”, the leaders confirmed their “unwavering and full support for Ukraine on the path to a lasting and just peace”.

Focusing on proposals to confirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and provide “robust” security guarantees, The Europeans said they will “continue pursuing the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term”.

They rebuffed the Trump-Kremlin intention to give all of the Donetsk region to Russia, stressing that the current line of contact should serve “as the starting point” for any territorial discussion.

And they noted that any peace agreement “affecting European states, the European Union, or Nato requires the approval of European partners or a consensus among the allies”.

The European Union’s foreign policy head Kaja Kallas added:

If you just give in to the aggression, then you invite for more aggression and this is dangerous….

We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded, ultimately the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.

Czech President Petr Pavel said any deal “must guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty, ability to chart its own course, and decent future”.

He noted, “Ukrainians and Europeans know Russia all too well and need credible assurances that this aggression will not return. That is why Ukraine and Europe must have a full say in any settlement.”

UPDATE 1503 GMT:

The European Commission has confirmed that its work on the use of frozen Russian assets will continue regardless of the Trump-Kremlin plan.

The Commission has recommended a €140 billion “reparations loan” to Ukraine, drawn from the assets. Belgium, whose Everclear holds most of the assets, has held up approval.

The Trump-Kremlin proposal threatens to supersede the Commission with a reconstruction fund, using €100 billion of the assets, from which the US will take 50% of the profits.

UPDATE 1425 GMT:

The toll from Wednesday’s Russian missile and drone strikes on Ternopil in western Ukraine has risen to 31 killed and 94 injured.

Christopher Miller of the Financial Times notes, “Rescuers are pulling out entire families from the rubble.”

UPDATE 1245 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has consulted with France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and UK’s Keir Starmer over the Trump-Kremlin plan.

The group are developing counterpoints.

European officials are reportedly most alarmed by the plan’s proposals for Ukraine to give up territory that it controls, the ban on NATO forces from being stationed in Ukraine, and the call for $100 billion of frozen Russian sovereign assets to be used in reconstruction projects that would earn profits for the US.

UPDATE 1034 GMT:

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has denied that he had any input into the Trump-Kremlin 28-point plan.

Countering leaks by “senior US officials” (see Original Entry), Umerov said of his meeting in Miami, Florida with Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff.

During the business trip to the United States, my task was technical – organizing meetings and preparing the dialogue. I did not provide any assessments or, moreover, approvals of any points. This is not within my authority and does not correspond to the procedure….

Publications in the media about alleged “agreements” or “removal of points” have nothing to do with reality. These are examples of unverified information that arose out of the context of the consultations.

UPDATE 0950 GMT:

As Donald Trump’s officials pushed the “peace plan” for Kyiv’s capitulation, Russia killed five civilians and wounded eight in Zaporizhzhia city in south-central Ukraine late Thursday.

Photos showed buildings engulfed by flames and streets strewn with rubble after Russia fired guided bombs.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a woman was killed and two residents hospitalized by Russian drone attacks on the Synelnykove district. Three private houses were destroyed.

The toll from Wednesday’s missile and drone strikes on Ternopil in western Ukraine has risen to 28 civilians murdered, including three children, with another 16 missing.

Search and rescue operations continue for a third day.

UPDATE 0938 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has marked the Day of Dignity and Freedom:

With a neighbor like Russia, defending one’s own dignity, freedom, and independence is an extremely difficult task – but without it, the Ukrainian people cannot be preserved.

And that is why it is so important that Ukrainians are not giving up, that they are defending what is fundamental, and that through their strength they are changing the course of history so that Ukraine may live and develop.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has knocked back a 28-point Trump-Kremlin plan, seeking Kyiv’s capitulation to Russia’s 46-month full-scale invasion.

The plan was drafted by Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in discussions with Vladimir Putin’s senior economic adviser Kirill Dmitriev.

It endorses the Kremlin’s demands for the remaining 22% of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, cuts the size of Ukraine’s military in half, blocks Western military assistance to Kyiv, and prohibits Ukrainian membership of NATO.

Sanctions are eventually lifted on Russia, which will be readmitted to the G7 nations and launch joint economic projects with the US.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was diplomatic in not rejecting negotiations.

Ukraine needs peace and Ukraine will do everything so that no one in the world can say we are upending diplomacy. This is important….

The number one task for everyone is a constructive diplomatic process with America and all our partners.

However, he effectively rejected elements of the plans by emphasizing peace on the basis of “Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and the dignity of the Ukrainian people”.

And the President said Ukraine must engage in the talks so it could continue its defense and counter-attacks against Moscow’s ground and air assault, including on Ukrainian civilians: “It is vital to have stable support for our army and all our planned defense operations and deep strikes.”

While Zelensky said it was important that Kyiv makes no “rash” statements, officials described the plans as “absurd” and unacceptable. They derided a “provocation” to stir up division and “disorientate” Ukraine’s allies.

“There are currently no signs that the Kremlin is ready for serious negotiations. Putin is trying to stall for time and avoid US sanctions,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee.

“It means capitulation, for Ukraine, for Europe and for America,” added commander and politician Roman Kostenko.

European officials backed Kyiv. European Union foreign policy head Kaja Kallas said:

Putin could end this war immediately if he just stopped bombing civilians and killing the people. But we haven’t seen any concessions on the Russian side.

We welcome all the meaningful efforts to end this war, but like we have said before, it has to be just and lasting. That also means that the Ukrainians, but also the Europeans, agree to this.

She added, “We are four years into Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, with no real signs that Moscow wants peace. If Russia really wanted peace, it would have accepted the unconditional ceasefire that has been on the table since March this year.”

US Officials Spin the Media

“Senior US officials” — possibly Witkoff and Kushner — spun the media by declaring that Ukraine had been involved in the development of the plan. That claim was refuted by Ukrainian officials, who said they were not consulted.

Soon after meeting Dmitriev in Miami, Florida, Witkoff saw Rusttem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in the same city.

However, there is no evidence that Umerov was able to ease the Russian demands in the plan. Instead, the “senior US officials” told the media that he had tried to water down a clause on anti-corruption, implying that the general was most concerned about protecting the corrupt amid a $100 million scandal over kickbacks in the energy industry.

See also Ukraine War, Day 1,358: Zelensky Fires Energy and Justice Ministers Amid $100M Corruption Allegations

Zelensky met a high-ranking US military delegation, led by the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, in Kyiv on Thursday.

No details were given of the conversation. US officials said Driscoll had “important messages” from the White House, and will likely travel to the Kremlin at the end of next week.

Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, appears to have been excluded from discussions. The White House says he is leaving his post in January.