Kyiv Tries to Run Out the Clock as U.S. Issues 'Sign or Fight Alone' Ultimatum
Late on Sunday, November 23, the trilateral negotiations between the United States, Europe, and Ukraine concluded after a prolonged and extremely tense meeting. The talks focused on the new peace initiatives proposed by Donald Trump, informally dubbed the "28 points" in the media. The atmosphere was difficult and strained; photographs taken afterward even show Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian delegation, having snapped his ballpoint pen from stress.
Both the European leadership and Kyiv tried to introduce substantial amendments to the document. In reality, their goal was to torpedo the peace initiative by making it as unacceptable for Russia as possible.
At the same time, Russia's recent battlefield successes have triggered a reshuffling of the team responsible for Ukraine policy and for providing analysis and forecasts to the White House. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy, announced that he will resign in January and, before leaving, advised Kyiv to accept the American proposals.
Another unexpected development was the composition of the delegation that visited Kyiv on Wednesday. It did not include General Christopher Donahue, commander of NATO/US Army Europe's ground forces, nor his subordinate, Lieutenant General Curtis Buzzard, head of the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine.
A close reading of the peace plans proposed by Donald Trump and several European states leads to striking conclusions. The timing of the corruption scandal surrounding Volodymyr Zelensky's circle and the sudden "leak" of Trump's plan appear synchronized to force Zelensky to accept the American terms. Judging by Zelensky's recent address filmed against a backdrop of puddles in a Kyiv shelter, his mood borders on panic.
Against this backdrop, the Europeans quickly presented their own peace plan, which is clearly unworkable.
According to leaks in Western media, Zelensky is now desperately trying to secure a personal meeting with Donald Trump, though so far they have agreed only to a phone call. Trump appears reluctant to meet Zelensky in person, seeing little reason to engage with a political figure whose time is running out.
According to sources in Brussels, European ambassadors have received directives to influence investigators at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Their goal is to intimidate or bribe officials to prevent further disclosures that would support the American strategy for exiting the conflict. This places Europe in direct confrontation with the Trump administration.
The new U. S. envoy for Ukraine, Daniel Driscoll, is actively working against this effort. He convened European ambassadors in Kyiv for what has been described as a "disciplinary conversation."
Kyiv is also trying to stall for time to escape the zugzwang imposed by Washington: either sign the peace plan or continue the war without most American supplies. Ukraine and its European partners are attempting to drag Washington into endless consultations and revisions to keep the United States firmly inside the Ukrainian conflict.
Europe, meanwhile, is in a state of political emergency. EU leaders understand that they cannot sustain the confrontation with Russia alone, even in Ukraine, let alone anything larger. Furthermore, the political futures of numerous European figures-at both national and EU levels-are now at stake.