Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history, Zelenskyy says

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history, as Donald Trump demanded Kyiv accept within days a US-backed “peace plan” that would see it forced to give up territory to Russia and make other painful concessions.

- Luke Harding Kyiv Pjotr Sauer Andrew Roth Washington

Trump confirmed yesterday that next Thursday - Thanksgiving in the United States - would be an “acceptable” deadline for Zelenskyy to sign the deal, which European and Ukrainian officials have warned amounts to a “capitulation”.

In a sombre 10-minute speech outside his presidential palace, Zelenskyy said his country had an impossible choice. It could keep its national dignity or risk losing a major partner in the shape of a US administration apparently determined to end the conflict on Moscow’s brutal terms.

“Now the pressure on Ukraine is one of the heaviest,” he said. Its options included agreeing to Trump’s 28-point proposal or “an extremely difficult winter”, which has already seen Russia destroy much of the country’s energy infrastructure, with millions of people left without heating and in the dark.

Agreeing to the US-Russian plan could leave Ukraine “without freedom, dignity and justice”, he warned. It would also mean believing “someone who has already attacked us twice”, he said, adding that he would never sacrifice Ukraine’s interests or go against its constitution. “We did not betray Ukraine then [in 2022], and we will not do so now,” he declared.