Zelenskyy feels the pressure as Putin backs US peace proposal
發佈日期: 2025-11-22 22:08
TVB News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautiously welcomed a U.S. proposal to end Moscow's nearly four-year war in Ukraine, saying it "could form the basis of a final peace settlement".
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has a painful choice, whether to prefer US support or maintain his country's sovereignty.
The plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally commented on a reported 28-point US plan to end the war with Ukraine.
Putin said the plan could form the basis for a final peace settlement, adding that it has not been discussed with the US in any substantive way, possibly because Ukraine is against it.
With Russia's latest strike hitting Odesa and other cities, Ukraine must grapple with the prospect of giving up land captured during the war, as well as reducing its military and ending any ambition of joining the NATO military alliance.
At the Oval Office in Washington, Trump said Zelenskyy is losing the war and he needs to do something soon to stop the killing.
"Yeah, we have a way of getting peace or we think we have a way of getting peace, he's going to have to approve it," said Trump. "Just so sad, so many people ... you know last month they lost 25,000 soldiers. This is something we haven't seen anything like this since the Second World War. Well, at some point, he's (Zelenskyy) going to have to accept something. You know, he hasn't accepted. You remember right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, you don't have the cards."
In a televised address to the nation, Zelenskyy tells the people of Ukraine that this is one of the most difficult moments in the country's history.
Ukraine, he says, faces a difficult choice: either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner in the United States.
Life without freedom, without dignity, without justice, he said.
Ukraine had earlier told the United Nations that they would never give up land, and some lawmakers hope Zelenskyy stands firm.
"Well, this plan is definitely a non-starter," said Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko. "But we are discussing the text which I saw today and it's totally unacceptable. They are against Ukraine's sovereignty, they undermine Ukraine's sovereignty. So basically they, if implemented, they create conditions for Ukraine to be destroyed by Putin."
