Zelensky thinks US would tighten screws on Russia if Moscow rejects Trump’s peace plan
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that he expects the United States to tighten sanctions on Russia and to supply Kyiv with even more weapons if Moscow rejects Washington’s carefully drafted peace proposal.
“I believe the United States will apply sanctions pressure and provide us with more weapons if [Putin] rejects everything,” he said. “I think that would be a fair request from us to the Americans.”
Zelensky said that while “plan A” is to proceed with President Trump’s bold peace plan, “plan B” is simply to keep countering Russian aggression. Speaking to European leaders, he added, “In my view, the logic is this: if the United States is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and to apply strong guarantees if Putin violates the agreement, then tell me honestly — how is that different from a situation in which Putin does not want to end the war?”
US diplomats have mostly kept the conditions for a response to a Russian refusal vague, focusing instead on pushing the peace process forward through rigorous, marathon negotiations with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators.
President Trump has warned that Ukraine will either have to accept the plan “or they’ll have to keep fighting.” He has yet to say what action he would take if the Kremlin rejects the U.S. proposal. Some experts point out that even the president himself has questioned whether Putin would be willing to end the war in exchange for the Donbas region.
“As US envoys push Ukraine to accept even previously rejected Russian conditions, and as the United States and its European allies spar about the terms of the plans to end the war, Moscow watches, with no incentive to make concessions to achieve a durable peace,” wrote John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, in an online dispatch on Tuesday.
This comes just before American negotiators plan to discuss the latest draft of a 20‑point peace plan with Russia. Moscow has objected to the presence of international forces on Ukrainian soil—a key component of the so‑called “platinum standard” security guarantee package that senior U.S. officials have touted.
The package calls for “NATO‑like” security guarantees to keep Russia from expanding westward once the conflict ends. For such guarantees to hold, the plan envisions international troops to monitor any future peace agreement, verify compliance, and enforce penalties if violations occur.
A senior U.S. official told reporters on Monday that President Trump is laser‑focused on ensuring that the agreement stops Russia from moving westward: “Under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Biden, Russia has moved west. President Trump wants to see this agreement end that trend for good.”
The United Kingdom and France have indicated they would be open to sending forces to Ukraine to support an international contingent, though the U.S. would not deploy on‑the‑ground troops. Trump has said Washington would back any countries that do.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told ABC News on Monday that the Kremlin would not sign a deal that included foreign forces on Ukrainian territory. “We definitely will not at any time subscribe to, agree to, or even be content with any presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory,” he said, adding that it would not matter if they were present under unofficial NATO orders or as part of Europe’s “Coalition of the Willing.”
Despite this, the proposed security guarantees have seen broad agreement among U.S., Ukrainian, and European officials. A senior U.S. official explained that these are no longer theoretical discussions: “They’re now very in‑depth conversations that have taken place over the last two weeks with NATO, Ukraine, and the U.S.; the documents are basically agreed on at the work‑level.” “It’s a security framework that Ukraine feels very, very comfortable with, and Europe feels very, very comfortable with.”
For now, the process continues, with Zelensky working closely with European leaders to refine the security guarantees the U.S. can offer. Senior U.S. officials said Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to brief Russia on their latest proposal to Ukraine ahead of potential meetings with Kyiv in Miami over the coming weekend.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
