President Donald Trump said Saturday that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects Washington’s proposed plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he can “continue to fight his little heart out,” even as allies warn the deal could leave Kyiv exposed to future aggression.
Speaking with reporters while departing the White House, Trump also insisted the U.S.-drafted, 28-point proposal is not his “final offer” amid criticism in Kyiv and across Europe.
“We’d like to get the peace. It should have happened a long time ago,” Trump said in remarks airing live on Newsmax.
“The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” he added. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended. If I were President, [the war] never would have happened.”
The proposal, according to officials familiar with the document, would require Ukraine to surrender additional territory, cap the size of its armed forces, and formally abandon its pursuit of NATO membership.
Trump has given Zelenskyy until Thanksgiving Day, or Thursday, to respond.
Officials from Ukraine and the United States are set to meet soon in Switzerland to discuss the plan, Kyiv said Saturday.
Zelenskyy said the plan forces him to weigh “the loss of our dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” underscoring the political pressure surrounding the decision.
Earlier Saturday, the leaders of nine European nations voiced unease over elements of the U.S. plan, particularly its limits on Ukraine’s military strength.
Such restrictions, they cautioned, “would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.”
Russia launched its “special military operation” in February 2022, saying its aims were the “denazification” and demilitarization of Ukraine.
In addition to military limits and blocking NATO membership, Moscow continues to demand official status for the Russian language inside Ukraine.