Ukraine desperate to keep Trump onside while saving its sovereignty

Ukrainian officials have spent the weekend scrambling to make up lost ground when it comes to talks with the U.S. over a peace plan to end the war with Russia, with Kyiv having to tread a fine line between showing the U.S. it’s willing to engage in discussions, while anxious to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials were held in Switzerland over the weekend after it emerged last week that Russia and the White House had held secret discussions and had devised a 28-point peace plan which largely favored Moscow’s demands.

The plan, which Ukraine had not participated in, included controversial conditions, including that Ukraine make territorial and military concessions by handing over the eastern Donbas region and reducing its army by 50%, as well as other proposals that crossed Ukraine’s “red lines.”

While media reports about the “peace plan” were initially met with a grim silence by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies, some analysts said it amounted to a capitulation to Russia’s maximalist territorial demands.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Kyiv to respond to the plan by Thursday and Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled his approval of the plan, saying it formed the “basis of a final peace settlement.”

Breaking his silence on the proposals last Friday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was facing one of the most difficult moments in its history and was essentially facing a choice between “losing its dignity or losing a key partner,” referring to the U.S.