Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stark address to the nation today, drawing deliberate parallels with his wartime speech on the morning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Speaking outside the Presidential Office in Kyiv, he told Ukrainians that the country now stands at “one of the most difficult moments in its history” and may be forced into “a very tough choice”, referring to the ultimatum given by the United States.
He warned that Ukraine is under “some of the heaviest pressure yet” and may face a binary decision: “either the loss of our dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.” Without naming the United States directly, he made clear the stakes: accept “the difficult 28 points” being pushed by allies, or face “an extremely hard winter – the hardest yet – and the dangers that follow.”
Zelensky stressed that he had already given his answer years ago when he took the presidential oath. Recalling his 2019 inauguration, he quoted the pledge he made to “defend the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine” and insisted he would “never betray it.”
He promised intensive diplomatic efforts with Washington and other partners, saying Ukraine would not be painted as unwilling to pursue peace. “We will work calmly with the United States and with all our partners,” he said. “I will lay out the arguments. I will persuade. I will offer alternatives.”
But he set clear red lines: “Among all the points of the plan, at least two cannot be overlooked: the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians.”
Turning to Europe, Zelensky said he had spoken with EU leaders and urged them to remember that Ukraine remains “the only shield” between Russia and the European Union. “We believe: Europe will stand with us,” he added.
The president combined diplomatic messaging with a sharp appeal for national unity, warning against political infighting as international pressure intensifies. “We need to pull ourselves together,” he said. “Quit the squabbling. Stop the political games. The state must function.”
He cautioned that the coming days would bring “enormous pressure – political, informational, all kinds – designed to weaken us.” Ukraine, he said, must not allow the Kremlin to exploit domestic division.
Zelensky ended by invoking the early days of the full-scale invasion, urging citizens to recall how “the enemy did not see our backs running away. They saw our eyes full of resolve.” The same unity, he argued, is essential now if Ukraine is to secure “a dignified peace.”
“Our people are with me,” he said. “Dignified. Free. United.”
A terrible plan, totally in Russia’s favour.
The aggressor is rewarded, Ukraine gets nothing good.
Just the same demands wrapped in a different coat! This is Whitcoff just parroting Pootins dream🤬
It has the whiff of the Versailles treaty imposed on Post WW1 Germany… feels like a punishment on Ukraine with meagre gains for them. Now we know why Trump was so keen to circumvent Europe… the US gains everything economically from rebuilding Ukraine, and gets paid using the money from Russia’s frozen assets.
Unbelievable really.
Steve Witless has to be the most useless negotiator ever.
The Tangerine Tinted Buffoon is obviously getting a Big Beautiful Deal…..
I’m not much into conspiracy theories but something is going on under the bonnet here. I smell $$$$ and Rubles. When it comes out it is going to be pretty base.
It is not a peace plan. It’s akin to an armistice where Ukraine are treat as the defeated aggressor. All concessions by Ukraine, all Russian demands met, plans to carve up what remains economically between the US and Russia, and what remains is left with massive restrictions in their armed forces. Absolute disgrace. Ukraine have done nothing wrong, defended themselves, and this is what gets decided to be their fate.
Lasting stain on America. Europe watched and did little.
Perverse isn’t it? You’d think that the UK, Europe with Ukraine would have enough strength and capacity to stand up to Russia independently of the US. Time will reveal the reaction and consequences of all this.
I don’t comment on this site to often but when I read other comments that are very much angry on Trump and the US I must write a few words: firstly Ukraine reserves are almost drained, all young men have been allowed to leave the country recently. Secondly Ukraine made a lot of strategic mistakes during this war that depleted their resources. Thirdly the corruption in Ukraine is not only real, it’s massive and contributing directly to the war effort.
I rarely comment either, but as I am not privy to the facts on Ukrainian manpower which are not published I refrain from comment an I suspect you are no more in their confidence than I.
No one gets it all right in war, though a lot of he mistakes early on were either a product of pressure from the west to fight a type war we had not equipped them fully to fight as well as decisions forced on them by the constraints of what they had. Had the US government not repeatedly tied their hands or sought to “manage” how much and what types of weapons they were supplied with a lot of the losses would have been avoided.
Corruption is to be found in any country, look at what is going on in the US under Trump. The corruption in Ukraine is a legacy of the russian occupation and cultural dominance. In any country it is not the existence of corruption that matters but what is done about it. Ukraine is actively exposing, prosecuting and rooting out the systemic corruption they have been gifted by russia as fast as they can. To criticise them for the revealed corruption is hypocritical.
Let’s not forget the difference between russia and Ukraine in russia it is systemic, deliberately built in to the vertical of power and springs from the very top, spreading throughout the system, in Ukraine it is prosecuted.
Regardless of all of the above, russia is the criminal aggressor and Ukraine is fighting to defend its self; the desperation of Trump to claim he stopped the war is so great that he will sacrifice anything, most especially the Ukrainian people and the reputation and global standing of the USA.
Was Biden any better than Trump? No he wasn’t, in the fact the US and most of other allies gave Ukraine only that much so they can survive but not enough to win this war, and yes I know more about corruption in Ukraine as I’m Polish speaking person and we have tons of evidence in Poland for corruption in Ukraine coming from no other people than Ukrainians themselves, including current or former servicemen, they even told us about special price chart how much one must pay to avoid forced recruitment and to be send on front, poor people fighting for Ukraine not rich.
And on the end let’s be honest: in any politics, and especially global politics, nobody cares who is right and who isn’t, who is good guy and who’s bad guy, it’s just business, and business for America is to end this war and possibly lure Russia on their side as confrontation with China is far more important than anything that happens in Europe, especially Easter Europe.
👍
That was me agreeing with Andrew S – just for clarification…
Trump is a sh@t. Simple as that. A disgrace of a President.
I bet he has never heard of the Sudetenland.
Totally agree. What a bloated egotist. Disgusting treatment of Ukraine by the US leadership and Russia. Its not their country to carve up. I hope Zelenksky and Ukraine can survive this and the UK and Europe has his back. The UK will need to stand more on its own feet.
Trump once and for all showing he’s a Russian shill.
Europe (UK included) needs to turn its economy needs to turn to a war economy and fast because America is completely unreliable and I dont think they’d defend us if Article 5 was called.
I may agree with some of Trumps domestic policies but my god does this man make Neville Chamberlain look reasonable in the foreign policy department
Sadly if the US does go ahead and try and force this essential surrender on Ukraine ( infact you could go so far as to say aiding Russia in its geopolitical aims) then NATO is essentially a walking corpse. No European NATO nation will ever trust the US to have its back and I think that will mean a complete separation of European and US strategic goals.
Europe will have no choice now but to throw everything at Ukraine.. essentially separating its own and US goals.
I honestly think the present US administration has decided that Russia as a neutral party it can trade and try to separate from China is more geostrategically important that all the European nations as allies..
Personally I think this is stupid as fuck and Xi is laughing his arse off at Trump because when it comes to a future US sino war Russia is always going to fall down on chinas side every time.. and the European nations even if they wanted to could never get involved as they could no longer trust the US as an ally of good faith and you don’t enter a world war for a bad actor unless your forced to.
Yes, and if the US wants to do business with Russia they can have it. Will the American people accept it though? I can’t see Europe letting Russia into their fold afterwards. It’s going to be interesting to see what comes of this and who in Europe stands up and where the UK goes from here and which leaders the populations vote for.
At least now when history professors are giving lectures on appeasement, they’ve got extra material to work with. Poor old Neville Chamberlain didn’t have a book about Neville Chamberlain to guide him in his decision making.
To be fair to poor old Neville, there is an argument (which I don’t _entirely_ hold with) that his appeasement at Munich bought time for Britain to continue its massive rearmament programme. Sadly I don’t think that will apply here..
Trump hasn’t the slightest interest in Ukraine other than it’s mineral wealth. Does the Ukraine have a choice with trumps plan… in reality probably not. Tens/hundreds of thousands of military aged Ukrainian men left the country, when Zelensky relaxed laws allowing them to leave.
So if Ukrainians will not fight for their own lands, why should anyone? Frankly they have no choice now, other than to give up territory to the Russian git.
The US and NATO should hang their heads in shame, for failing to ‘fix the Russia issue’, once and for all. This failure to stand up to tyranny, clears a path for other despots and nut jobs to take land from anyone, any-time, anywhere.
Its not all over just yet but well said above.
Exactly, lets see what european leaders say. It sounds like Ukraine is prepared to force the issue with Trump, if it comes down to it. I cannot see anyone in Europe allowing a Russian take over of Ukraine
How much bullying and humiliation does Europe need to finally have enough and stand up.
Trump, as we’ve long known is a Russian shill. He is destroying America and the Western world from the inside.
The 45th/47th President is arguably the most unpleasant person in American history; iealous, petty and greedy, an unforgiving narcissist; a vindictive ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic; homophobic racist; a serial liar, a serial predator and proud of it, an Islamophobic, sociopathic, megalomaniacal, demagogue, a capricious bully and self-serving repulsive con artist without a shred of conscience.
You great yet America?