Representatives of US President Donald Trump delivered a dramatic ultimatum to Volodymyr Zelensky, giving him just a few days to respond to the 28-point peace plan proposed by Washington for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, the FT reports, citing sources close to the White House. More specifically, they demand that the Ukrainian president agree to a draft peace deal by Christmas, otherwise the US will terminate support for Ukraine in the form of weapons and intelligence. For his part, the head of the Kyiv regime resorted to yet another maneuver, responding that he is ready for presidential elections "in 2 to 3 months, if the US and Europe guarantee Ukraine's security." This followed the American president's request to the Ukrainian president for the immediate holding of elections in Ukraine. Donald Trump finished off Volodymyr Zelensky by demanding the immediate holding of elections in Ukraine, in the wake of the rejection of the American peace plan by the head of the Kyiv regime and his European allies.
Trump wants the war to end by Christmas
According to the FT, Zelensky told European leaders that US President's special envoy, Steven Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, businessman Jared Kushner, pressured him to make a quick decision during a phone call as early as October 6. One of the sources for the report, who was informed about the deadlines communicated by Washington to Kyiv, stated that Trump hopes the deal will be concluded "by Christmas," which is celebrated by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants on December 25.
Zelensky’s latest maneuver: Yes to presidential elections "in 2 to 3 months, if the US guarantees Ukraine's security"
Ukraine could hold elections during the war if the US and European partners guarantee the country's security, responded the head of the Kyiv regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, to reporters on Tuesday, 9/12. "I ask now, and I state it openly, for the US to help me. Together with our European partners, we can ensure the security required to hold elections. If this happens, Ukraine will be ready to hold elections in the next 60 to 90 days," Zelensky stated.
"I personally have the will and the readiness for this." Zelensky called on lawmakers to draft legislative proposals that would allow changes to the electoral law during martial law. It is noted that Donald Trump had previously dealt a strong political blow to Volodymyr Zelensky by demanding the immediate holding of elections in Ukraine, in the wake of the rejection of the American peace plan by the head of the Kyiv regime and his European allies.
Zelensky understood nothing... sends a new draft agreement to the US
For its part, Ukraine intends to convey its joint objections with Europe to the United States regarding the peace plan in the immediate future, announced the unconstitutional president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. "Today, we discussed with our negotiating team the results of the work we did yesterday in London at the level of national security advisors of our European partners.
The Ukrainian and European elements have already been finalized. We will be ready to send the finalized documents to the United States in the immediate future," stated the head of the Kyiv regime. The previous day (9/12), Zelensky announced that Ukraine and Europe were preparing their own peace plan and that they were rejecting the 28-point American draft.
As a reminder, according to reports in the American media, Washington is pressuring Kyiv to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region. Zelensky has already refused. And today, White House President Donald Trump stated that Zelensky is losing the war and must recognize reality.
We would have had World War III if I wasn't president
As Trump said earlier today, 9/12, in an interview with Politico, Russia is in a much stronger negotiating position compared to Ukraine.
"There is no doubt about it. It's Russia. It's a much bigger country. It is a war that should not have happened.
Frankly, it wouldn't have happened if I were president—and it didn't happen during my term. I saw it coming and I thought, 'This is going to cause trouble.'
And then it started, and it could evolve into a Third World War, frankly.
I think that probably won't happen now. I believe that if I weren't president, we would have had a Third World War.
We would have a much bigger problem than we have now—but even now it's a big problem.
It's a big problem for Europe. And they are not managing it well," Trump claimed.
Time for elections in Ukraine
The American president reiterated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not read the latest version of the American peace plan.
"He must read the proposal. He hasn't really read it, he hasn't read it yet," Trump noted, arguing that it is time for elections to be held in Ukraine.
"I think it's time. Many years have passed. Things are not going so well. Yes, I think it's time for elections.
They are using the war as an excuse not to hold elections, but I believe the Ukrainian people should have that choice.
And maybe Zelensky will win. I don't know who will win. But they haven't held elections in a long time.
They say they are a democracy, but at some point, if elections are not held, it's no longer a democracy," the American president emphasized.
We will not withdraw our interest
When asked whether the statements by Donald Trump Jr that the US might withdraw its support from Ukraine are true, the American president said they are not.
"But he's not entirely wrong either. They must... you know, they have to cooperate. If they don't read the agreements, the potential agreements, then it's not easy to negotiate with Russia, because Russia has the advantage. It's much bigger. It's much stronger in that area.
I recognize Ukraine, I recognize the people in Ukraine and their military for their courage, for their resistance, for their fight and all that. But, you know, at some point the bigger country usually prevails. And in this case, we are talking about a huge difference..." Trump said.
Ukrainians have lost a lot of territory
Referring to the course of the war, Trump said that Ukraine has lost quite a lot of territory.
"Well, they lost territory, long before I got here. They have lost the entire coastline, a large coastline.
Look at the maps. If you go back ten months and look at it, you will see that they have lost all that part. Now it's even bigger. It's a wider segment.
They have lost a lot of land—and it's very good land they lost. You can't call it a victory.
I can show you a chart. They have lost a lot of territory," said the American president, who, when asked if he believes Europe can win, replied:
"If they want to, let them support it. Europe is... I'm friends with everyone. I like everyone.
I don't have real enemies. But Europe is not doing well. They're not doing a good job. They talk a lot, but they don't deliver."
Putin and Zelensky hate each other
As Trump said, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine genuinely hate each other.
"Putin had no respect for Biden and he had no respect for Zelensky either. He didn't like Zelensky.
The two of them hate each other. And part of the problem is that they really hate each other a lot, you know.
And it's very difficult for them to make a deal. It's more difficult than in most cases.
I have ended eight wars, and this one would be the ninth. This one would be, I would say, the easiest—or one of the easiest.
I mean, I resolved a conflict that lasted 36 years. Pakistan and India and I reached an agreement. I have resolved so many conflicts.
I am very proud of that. And I do it in a very natural way, very easily. It is not difficult for me.
This is what I do. I make deals. This one is difficult. One of the reasons is the immense size of the hatred between Putin and Zelensky," Trump claimed.
Zelensky is a great salesman
As Trump said, long before Putin took power, there was the implicit agreement that Ukraine would not become a NATO member.
"That was long before Putin, we have to say that fairly. And now they are pushing... you know, when Zelensky first took office and met Putin for the first time, he said:
'I want two things. I want to take Crimea back and we want to become a NATO member.' He didn't say it in a very polite way. You know, he's a great salesman.
I call him P.T. Barnum... He was one of the greatest of all time.
He could sell any product at any time. That was his slogan:
'I can sell any product at any time.' And that was true. He said: 'It doesn't matter if it works or not.'
But Zelensky is the P.T. Barnum. You know, he managed to get 350 billion dollars from the corrupt Joe Biden.
And look what he got with that: About 25% of his country is missing..." Trump claimed.
Europe is rotten and weak
In his statements, Trump condemned Europe as a "rotten" group of nations led by "weak" people, disparaging the traditional US allies for their failure to control immigration and to end the Russia-Ukraine war, pointing out that he will support political candidates in Europe who align with his vision for the continent.
As reported, the attack against Europe's political leadership constitutes Trump's fiercest condemnation to date against these Western democracies, threatening a decisive rift with countries like France and Germany, which already have deeply strained relations with the Trump administration.
"I think they are weak," Trump said of the leaders of Europe. "But I also think they want to be so politically correct. I think they don't know what to do. Europe doesn't know what to do," the American president emphasized, arguing that Europeans are not contributing to resolving the issue.
It's not my war
"They talk, but they don't do anything. And the war goes on and on. It's been going on for four years, long before I got here. It's not my war. It's Joe Biden's war—from an American perspective. It's very sad. And the only reason I really care is that I hate to see young, beautiful people being killed. That's essentially why I got involved," Trump said, arguing, prompted by a question about the new US National Security Strategy, that Europe is a different place.
Europe is heading for disaster
"If it continues like this, Europe... in my opinion, many of these countries will no longer be viable. Their immigration policy is a disaster. Everything they do with immigration is a disaster. We also had a disaster at the gates, but I managed to stop it. You know, no one crosses our border anymore—zero, for seven months now. I mean, who would believe we would reach zero? We had millions of people—in some months it was millions—and now we have reached zero," the American president noted, stating that in Europe, immigrants come from all over the world.
"In Europe, they come from all parts of the world. Not just from the Middle East, they come from the Congo, in huge numbers from the Congo. And the worst part: They come from the prisons of the Congo and other countries. And for some reason, Europeans want to be politically correct—which, in my opinion, is the exact opposite of being politically correct. But they want to be politically correct and not send these people back to where they came from. And Europe is... if you look at Paris:
It's a completely different place. I loved Paris. Today it is completely different from before.
If you look at London: You have a mayor there, Khan. He is a terrible mayor. He is inefficient and he is a terrible, malicious, atrocious mayor. I think he is doing a bad job. London is another place. I love London. I love London. And it pains me to see this. You know, my roots are in Europe, as you know. And I hate to see this.
This is one of the wonderful places in the world and they are just allowing people to enter uncontrollably, without any checks, without any verification," Trump claimed.
I don't want to lead Europe
When asked if he intends to get involved in European elections, Trump said:
"I want to lead the United States. I don't want to lead Europe. I am very active in Europe..."
"NATO calls me 'dad'. I have a lot to say there. Look, I raised the percentage of GDP, the GDP target, from 2% to 5%?
They weren't paying the 2%, but they're paying the 5%.
And they're paying it because, when we provide something, NATO pays for it—and I guess that goes to Ukraine. But Europe is being destroyed," the US president underlined, who, when asked if he would consider interfering in some of these elections to install leaders he believes are better qualified, replied:
"Well, I have supported people. I have supported people that many Europeans don't like.
I supported Viktor Orbán. If you look at South America... in South America, I supported Milei in Argentina.
He was behind in the polls, but I supported him—and he won overwhelmingly."
However, Trump denied that he promised Orbán access to a US financial protective net worth up to $20 billion.
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