{"id":2519238,"date":"2025-12-09T13:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-trying-to-keep-us-peace-plan-alive-as-trump-lambastes-ukraine-and-europe\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:25:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T18:25:17","slug":"zelensky-trying-to-keep-us-peace-plan-alive-as-trump-lambastes-ukraine-and-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/zelensky-trying-to-keep-us-peace-plan-alive-as-trump-lambastes-ukraine-and-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky trying to keep US peace plan alive as Trump lambastes Ukraine and Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fzelensky-trying-to-keep-us-peace-plan-alive-as-trump-lambastes-ukraine-and-europe%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2519238&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the challenges facing the proposed U.S. peace plan to end Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed readiness to present refined proposals to the U.S. and emphasized Ukraine&#8217;s commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >achieving real peace<\/a>, while firmly rejecting any territorial concessions, particularly in the Donbas region. This stance, however, has caused tension with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who criticized Zelensky for allegedly not reading the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-loses-4th-general-in-combat\/\" title=\"... Loses 4th General in Combat\">latest peace proposal<\/a> and suggested he might consider abandoning support for Ukraine if negotiations do not proceed favorably. The plan requires Ukraine to cede notable territories to russia, limit its military capabilities, and forgo future NATO membership, aligning closely with Russian demands-terms that Ukraine finds unacceptable. European leaders have also voiced concerns about potential U.S. betrayal in the negotiation process. Experts doubt a viable peace settlement is achievable at this time, as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains confident he can wear down Ukrainian resistance. Meanwhile, Trump harshly criticized European leaders as &#8220;weak&#8221; and &#8220;politically correct,&#8221; blaming them for diminished global influence and ineffective support for Ukraine.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Zelensky trying to keep US peace plan alive as Trump lambastes Ukraine and Europe<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2424675\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The prospect of ending <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-ukraine-war\/\">Russia&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine<\/a> seems increasingly unlikely as the question of land concessions splits Kyiv and Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured the public on Tuesday that his negotiators &ldquo;are ready to present [proposals] to our partners in the U.S.&rdquo; The news comes after days of President Donald Trump claiming that the Ukrainian leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3910047\/trump-claims-zelensky-hasnt-read-peace-plan\/\">has not even read<\/a> the latest U.S.-drafted proposal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3901383\/future-hamas-israel-gaza-ceasefire-second-phase\/\">Future of Hamas hazy after devastating war and unstable peace<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3911510\/honduras-international-arrest-warrant-hernandez\/\">Honduran AG issues international arrest warrant for Trump-pardoned former president<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3910102\/tax-the-rich-protesters-vandalize-crown-jewels-display-in-tower-of-london\/\">&lsquo;Tax the rich&rsquo; protesters vandalize Crown Jewels display in Tower of London<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible,&rdquo; Zelensky <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1998407889254228151\">said<\/a> Tuesday. &ldquo;We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, at 10 Downing Street in London. (Toby Melville\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;As our partners in the negotiating teams rightly note, everything depends on whether Russia is ready to take effective steps to stop the bloodshed and prevent the war from reigniting,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States. Glory to Ukraine!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3909728\/ukraine-peace-talks-headed-to-next-steps-zelensky\/\">U.S. peace plan<\/a>, which has been edited and rewritten multiple times as it passed back and forth between Russian officials, Ukrainian diplomats, and U.S. mediators, demands that Ukraine cede large swaths of territory to Moscow, mostly in Donbas.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky appeared defiant on giving up Donbas during an online press conference on Monday, saying, &ldquo;Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President ...\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">international law<\/a>. And we don&rsquo;t have any moral right either.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don&rsquo;t want to cede anything,&rdquo; the Ukrainian leader said. &ldquo;We are fighting for that, as you well know.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But his obstinance on the issue has damaged relations with the ever-fickle Trump, who has complained for multiple days straight that Zelensky has not even read the latest draft compiled in Miami last week.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It would be nice if he would read it,&rdquo; Trump told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/12\/09\/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693\"><em>Politico<\/em><\/a>  in an interview published Tuesday. &ldquo;You know, a lot of people are dying. So it would be really good if he&rsquo;d read it. His people loved the proposal. They really liked it. His lieutenants, his top people, they liked it, but they said he hasn&rsquo;t read it yet. I think he should find time to read it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3911718\/trump-attacks-weak-politically-correct-european-leaders\/\">TRUMP UPS ATTACKS ON &lsquo;WEAK&rsquo; AND &lsquo;POLITICALLY CORRECT&rsquo; EUROPEAN LEADERS <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most concerningly for officials in Kyiv, Trump alluded to the idea of giving up on the Russia-Ukraine war altogether.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on farm subsidies on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Asked for comment on speculation from his son, Donald Trump Jr., Trump said the idea he may &ldquo;walk away&rdquo; from Ukraine out of frustration is &ldquo;not correct&rdquo; but &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not exactly wrong.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They have to play ball,&rdquo; Trump told <em>Politico<\/em>. &ldquo;If they don&rsquo;t read agreements, potential agreements, it&rsquo;s not easy with Russia, &rsquo;cause Russia has the upper hand. And they always did. They&rsquo;re much bigger. They&rsquo;re much stronger in that sense. I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The plan under consideration is believed to align closely with Russia&rsquo;s goals for the conflict. In addition to ceding Donbas territory to Moscow, Ukraine would be required to curtail its military and be blocked from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nato\/\">NATO membership<\/a> in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, the Kremlin has adopted a positive, optimistic tone about the negotiations, saying the U.S. vision is based in &ldquo;flexible realism.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that he is &ldquo;not sure there is a viable path to a negotiated settlement, at least not right now.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Putin is essentially demanding that Ukraine accept defeat despite the inconvenient fact that Ukraine hasn&rsquo;t been defeated,&rdquo; Hardie told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Of course, the Ukrainian leadership is going to reject such terms, not least because capitulating would constitute political suicide. But Putin still seems overconfident that he can eventually grind down Ukrainian forces. So long as he believes time is on his side, Putin is unlikely to make the sort of compromises that could enable a settlement.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Residents react after a Russian missile hit an apartment building during Russia&rsquo;s combined missile and drone air attack on June 17, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (AP Photo\/Efrem Lukatsky)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Unfortunately, Washington has probably bolstered his confidence by reducing support for Ukraine, trying to strong-arm Kyiv into submitting to Kremlin demands, and echoing Putin&rsquo;s argument about the inevitability of Russian advances,&rdquo; Hardie said.<\/p>\n<p>Further divisions have emerged between the U.S. and European nations after world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3908870\/macron-denies-everything-us-betrayal-comments-white-house-hosts-ukraine-talks-miami\/\">reportedly warned Zelensky<\/a> that the White House could &ldquo;betray&rdquo; Ukraine in negotiations with the Kremlin.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3909507\/russia-barrage-on-ukraine-cut-power-from-nuclear-power-plant\/\">RUSSIA&rsquo;S OVERNIGHT BARRAGE ON UKRAINE AMID PEACE TALKS TEMPORARILY CUT POWER FROM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I actually like the current crew. I like &rsquo;em a lot,&rdquo; Trump said on Tuesday. &ldquo;But, uh, they&rsquo;re not doing a good job. Europe is not doing a good job in many ways.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump accused European leaders of making their nations &ldquo;weak&rdquo; and &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vince-vaughn-blasts-the-state-of-responsible-comedies-are-they-now-a-snoozefest\/\" title=\"Vince Vaughn Blasts the State of \u2018Responsible\u2019 Comedies: Are They Now a \u2018Snoozefest\u2019?\">politically correct&#038;rdquo<\/a>; to the detriment of their global influence and quality of life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zelensky pushes US peace plan amid Trump&#8217;s harsh criticism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2519239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25290634442118.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8447,3634,6991,67534,8630],"class_list":["post-2519238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-europe","tag-trump","tag-ukraine","tag-us-peace-plan","tag-zelensky"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25290634442118.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2519238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2519242,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519238\/revisions\/2519242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2519238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2519238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2519238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}