Trump's “scandalous” plan has set Europe on fire. The West launches a counterattack. “This is simply unacceptable.”
On Sunday, November 23, top European officials will take part in high-level talks between the United States and Ukraine. The meeting will be held due to the serious reservations of Kiev's allies towards the agreement proposal presented by Donald Trump
Ukraine's staunchest allies held emergency talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa in an attempt to stop Donald Trump from forcing Kiev to hand over large swaths of territory to Russia as part of an extremely unsustainable peace plan.
Western governments are shocked and deeply concerned by the new 28-point draft agreement prepared by the American president's team. Many see this plan as an attempt to give Vladimir Putin everything he wants.
The big game behind closed doors is about to begin. The West is sure that this is not a peace plan, but a plan for Ukraine's surrender.
The European Union, France, Germany and the United Kingdom are scheduled to take part in high-level negotiations on Trump's peace plan, which – according to a senior European official cited by POLITICO – are scheduled to start on Sunday, November 23 in Switzerland.
More than a dozen leaders including Germany's Friedrich Merz, France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Keir Starmer, the EU's Ursula von der Leyen and Canada's Mark Carney at the G20 world leaders summit. Johannesburg, South Africa, November 22, 2025EPA/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / POOL / PAP
The mere fact that British and EU representatives will be given a seat at the negotiating table is a significant breakthrough for Europeans – until now, they have been completely omitted from the latest US peace initiative.
European leaders are now working feverishly on counter-proposals to present to Trump to water down the most controversial and dangerous elements of the US plan.
– say officials familiar with the matter.
More than a dozen leaders — including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — met for urgent talks during the G20 summit in Johannesburg to coordinate their position with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“This project is a baseline that requires further work,” the leaders said in a joint statement. — We are clear on the principle that borders cannot be changed by force.
We are also concerned about proposed restrictions on the Ukrainian armed forces that would make Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.
The leaders emphasized the “strength” of their continued support for Ukraine and noted that any provisions of the agreement that would apply to the EU or NATO must obtain formal consent from all Member States these structures.
Secretary of the Ukrainian Security and National Defense Council Rustem Umerov confirmed on Saturday, November 22, that Ukraine plans to hold high-level talks with US officials in Switzerland. According to a European official, the talks are scheduled to start on Sunday, November 23, and will involve national security advisers from Ukraine, the US, France, the UK, Germany and the EU.
The head of the cabinet of EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Bjoern Seibert, is to participate on behalf of the European Union.
The main goal of countries supporting Ukraine is to strengthen Zelensky's position and provide him with public support for the next stages of negotiations. Although none of Ukraine's allies participated in preparing Trump's plan or considered it fair, they tried not to reject it outright – for fear of provoking an unpredictable American president.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa during the plenary session at the G20 leaders' summit. Johannesburg, South Africa, November 22, 2025EPA/THOMAS MUKOYA / PAP
“This is simply unacceptable.”
Instead, Kiev's allies are working intensively behind the scenes, developing alternative proposals that would better protect the interests of Ukraine and Europe. At the same time, it is clear that no one among Ukraine's friends finds Trump's original plan acceptable — and some of them are unwilling to give it any credibility.
One of the EU diplomats said that talks would be based on the American proposal
it would give legitimacy to a document that was created without the participation of Ukraine and Europe, and whose effects would directly affect us. This is simply unacceptable.
The crisis talks in Johannesburg took place as the Trump administration increased pressure on Zelensky, demanding that the terms of the plan be adopted by Thanksgiving Day — i.e. next Thursday, November 27.
If Zelensky refuses, Trump could cut off Ukraine from US intelligence on Russia's movements and withhold military aid. Both of these things have been crucial to Ukraine maintaining its combat capabilities over the past three and a half years.
In such a situation Ukraine would become almost completely dependent on European aid — and EU leaders are already having a huge problem figuring out how they could address it.
— We are working for a just and lasting peace with and for Ukraine — together with our friends and partners — said Ursula von der Leyen after meeting with Zelensky on Friday, November 21.
We discussed the current situation and we agree: there can be no decision about Ukraine without Ukraine
– she added.
Von der Leyen also talked to Macron, Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The draft American plan would involve handing over the Russian-occupied Donbas region in eastern Ukraine to Putin, limiting the number of Ukrainian armed forces to 600,000. soldiers and permanent ban on Ukraine's accession to NATO.
Trump is intensifying his efforts to reach an agreement at an exceptionally difficult time for Zelensky – who is struggling with a growing corruption scandal – and this is no coincidence. American officials believe that weakening his domestic position will make it more likely that he will accept the imposed conditions.
Zelensky himself said on Friday, November 21, that his country is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history and may have to choose between losing a “key partner” or “dignity”.
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Final showdown before the deadline
Meanwhile, Putin supported Trump's proposal, which includes, among others: unfreezing Russian assets currently held in Europe and setting the stage for potentially very lucrative reconstruction contracts – from which they would benefit American companies. Trump's proposal also suggests future joint Russian-American projects that would result from signing the peace.
An additional blow to Brussels was the support of this plan by the Putin-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
It is unclear what exactly will happen if Ukraine does not agree to the deal by Thursday. European officials note that Trump has repeatedly imposed tough 'deadlines' — towards Putin or trade partners — which later passed without any real consequences.
One possible scenario is for the US to temporarily suspend the transfer of intelligence data to Ukraine, which Trump has already done before, only to reinstate it later.
Europeans are outraged that they – along with Ukraine – stayed completely excluded from work on the draft peace agreementwhich was prepared by Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff. EU officials emphasize that since Europe is today a much larger donor to the Ukrainian war effort than the US, it cannot be ignored in any negotiations.
For von der Leyen and the other leaders, it is crucial that no agreement is reached without Volodymyr Zelensky. European officials described the 28-point plan as “scandalous,” adding that Witkoff “needs a psychiatrist” if he thinks such a project has any chance of success.
