Trump pressures Zelensky to accept US-backed peace plan: Live Updates

The US president has reiterated comments from their Oval Office meeting, saying the Ukrainian leader “has no cards”

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky will have to come to terms with the American-backed 28-point plan to end the conflict with Russia, US President Donald Trump has said.

Zelensky had previously warned that he had reservations about the plan. In a ten-minute video on Friday posted to his Telegram channel, he told Ukrainians that they would have to face “the difficult 28 points, or a very difficult winter,” adding that the proposal has been criticized by several of Ukraine’s Western European backers.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump appeared to dismiss Zelensky’s concerns: “He’ll have to like it… at some point, he’s going to have to accept something.”

The US president also referenced their now-infamous Oval Office meeting back in February, during which he told Ukraine’s leader, “you don’t have the cards” to continue.

Kiev has reportedly been given until Thursday to accept the plan, with the possibility of extending the deadline in order to finalize the terms.

The sudden submission of the initiative to a politically weakened Zelensky, along with the release of an alleged draft of the text, has triggered immediate turmoil. Kiev’s European backers are now scrambling, with Western media calling their reaction an “emergency” response. Tensions are rising further as concerns grow over Zelensky’s ongoing corruption scandal.

The Kremlin has refused to engage in what it called “megaphone diplomacy,” following a series of vocal declarations of defiance from Brussels on Friday morning. European Council President Antonio Costa openly admitted that the EU had not been informed about the plan. Zelensky has also held an emergency call with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.