RTSat, 22 Nov 2025 18:34 UTC
© John McDonnell/Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs the White House • Washington, DC • November 22, 2025
if he rejects the peace plan currently being discussed.
US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky can "continue to fight his little heart out" should he refuse the proposed peace plan to settle the conflict with Russia.
Washington presented Kiev this week with a new draft proposal for ending the conflict, pressing the Ukrainian leadership to accept it by next Thursday. According to media reports,
the proposed 28-point plan includes multiple clauses repeatedly refused by Kiev and its Western European backers,
such as Ukraine giving up on its NATO aspirations and downsizing its military.Trump made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday. The US president was asked what would happen if Zelensky refused to accept the proposed plan.
"Then he can continue. Then he can continue to fight his little heart out," Trump said.
Trump's latest statement echoed remarks he made on Friday, when he said that Zelensky
"is going to have to accept something" at some point. He warned:
"Ukraine is now heading into a "cold winter" while its energy infrastructure sites "have been under attack, to put it mildly. He will have to like [the plan] and if he does not like it then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess."
According to media reports,
Washington has already threatened Kiev with cutting off military aid and intelligence sharing should it reject the draft peace proposal. Earlier this year, the US used the same leverage to press Ukraine into accepting Trump's rare earths deal.
Comment: Ukraine downsizing its military? According to weekly war news clips, this happens on a regular basis. Meanwhile, the US is considering cuts to weapons supply and intel sharing:
Kiev confirmed receiving a new draft peace plan from the US on Thursday without elaborating on its contents. The Ukrainian leadership expressed willingness to discuss it, stating that "in the American side's assessment" the draft "could help reinvigorate diplomacy."
Ukraine's mission at the UN has already rejected some of the key points of the reported plan, with Deputy Permanent Representative Khristina Gayovyshyn stating Kiev will never recognize any formerly Ukrainian territories as part of Russia. Joining military blocs or limiting the country's military capabilities was out of the question as well, she insisted. At the same time, Gayovyshyn reiterated her government's readiness to discuss the provisions of the draft.
Ukraine's Western European backers have pushed back against the reported clauses of the US-proposed settlement plan, insisting that any agreement must reflect the positions of both Brussels and Kiev.
The EU is now reportedly working on a "counteroffer" that is more favorable to Kiev.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said there was "nothing new" in Russia-US negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict, adding that Russia remains ready to engage in negotiations with Ukraine. The Russian government has received no information about Kiev agreeing to negotiate on the peace plan, Peskov told reporters on Friday.
Comment: Ukraine downsizing its military? According to weekly war news clips, this happens on a regular basis. Meanwhile, the US is considering cuts to weapons supply and intel sharing: