Trump Pressures Ukraine to Accept Peace Plan, European Leaders to Visit U.S. in Support of Zelensky

Introduction: After secret talks between the U.S. and Russia in Alaska, Trump is more inclined to promote a "peace talks first, then ceasefire" plan. European leaders will form a delegation to the U.S. to "support Ukraine," and the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine may become the focal point of the game.

European leaders said last Sunday that they would accompany Zelensky to meet with Trump in Washington. The current American president is pressuring Ukraine to accept a rapid peace agreement to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe in 80 years.

After meeting with Putin in Alaska,Trump is more inclined to promote the stance of "achieving a peace agreement first rather than a ceasefire first."Trump and Zelensky will hold talks on Monday.

“If peace cannot be achieved, the conflict will continue, and thousands upon thousands of people will keep losing their lives... We may ultimately end up in such a situation, but we must do everything we can to avoid it,” said U.S. Secretary of State Rubio on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’. Last Sunday, Trump claimed on social media that “significant progress has been made on the Russia issue,” but did not disclose any specifics.

Insiders told Reuters that the leaders of the US and Russia have discussed a proposal: Russia would return part of the Ukrainian occupied territories in exchange for Kyiv abandoning heavily fortified areas in the east and freezing other fronts.Senior officials of the Trump administration hinted that the fate of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine (including Donetsk and Luhansk, currently largely controlled by Russia) is crucial, and some form of defense agreement is also on the negotiating table.

"We have secured a concession: the United States can provide protection similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty."Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN last Sunday that this could potentially replace Ukraine's demand to join NATO. He said this was "the first time hearing that the Russian side agreed to this plan." NATO's Article 5 stipulates that an attack on any member is considered an attack on all members.

However, this promise is unlikely to persuade Kyiv to give up Donbas. When Ukraine abandoned its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in 1994, its borders were supposed to be guaranteed. However, Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale military action in 2022 have proven that such guarantees were empty. This conflict, which has lasted for three and a half years, has already caused more than a million casualties.

German Chancellor Merz, French President Macron, and British Prime Minister Starmer convened an allied meeting last Sunday to support Zelensky, particularly hoping to secure strong security guarantees that include U.S. involvement.Europe is eager to avoid a repeat of the disastrous scene when Zelensky was publicly rebuked by Trump and Vice President Vance during his visit to the US in February.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Stubb (who played golf with Trump in Florida earlier this year), and Italian Prime Minister Meloni (an admirer of Trump's policies) will also visit Washington.

Europe demonstrates a show of unity.

Last Sunday, European leaders at the meeting demonstrated a united stance, welcoming the security guarantees proposed by the United States but emphasizing that any territorial discussions must involve Kyiv and require clear arrangements to ensure the security of the remaining Ukrainian territories. Some countries called for an immediate ceasefire—this was initially claimed to be promoted during the Trump-Putin summit, but Trump later changed his position and agreed with Russia's proposal of "direct talks without a ceasefire," a plan opposed by some of Ukraine's European allies.

"Peace cannot be negotiated while the bombs are falling," stated the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The joint communiqué issued after the meeting by the UK, France, and Germany indicated that the leaders of the three countries are prepared to "deploy peacekeeping forces after hostilities cease to help defend Ukraine's air and sea domains and rebuild Ukraine's armed forces." This plan, led by the UK and France, has been in preparation by some European countries since last year, but some countries remain reluctant to engage militarily. It highlights that even among allies, peace negotiations are full of differences.

Zelensky stated on social platform X that the meeting "clearly supports Ukraine's independence and sovereignty," and "there is a consensus that borders should not be changed by force." He added that any potential security guarantees "must be practical, covering land, sea, and air defense, and require European involvement in their formulation."

Rubio stated that both Russia and Ukraine need to make concessions to reach a peace agreement, and security guarantees for Ukraine will be discussed on Monday.He warned that if negotiations break down, Russia will face additional consequences. "While we cannot say peace is in sight, we see enough progress to continue consultations with Zelensky and European allies," Rubio told CBS.

Putin informed Belarusian President Lukashenko about the Alaska talks and had a phone conversation with Kazakh President Tokayev. Last Friday, Trump stated that Ukraine should reach an agreement to end the conflict because "Russia is a superpower, and Ukraine is not." According to informed sources, after the Alaska summit, Trump called Zelensky and said that Putin proposed that if Ukraine gave up the entire Donetsk region, Russia would freeze most of the front lines—an offer that Zelensky rejected.