In his Nov. 20 nightly video address, Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, one could detect a new element. Undoubtedly, he still plans to bob and weave his way out of the Trump 28-point plan and see if he and his European partners can change the conversation; yet there were indications that he had been chastised earlier in the day by the presentation delivered by Trump’s envoy, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll. He reported that it was “a very serious conversation. The American side presented its proposals—the points of a plan to end the war—their vision.... I outlined our key principles. And we agreed that our teams will work on these proposals to ensure it’s all genuine. We will not make any sharp statements.” That last part sounded like he was temporarily abandoning his verbal contretemps.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed today that he had given Zelenskyy until Nov. 26 to agree to at least the format of the plan, with a full signing before the end of Trump’s first year (Jan. 20, 2026). This first deadline appears more serious than Trump’s effort after his August meeting with Putin. Zelenskyy seemed to be more under the gun, saying: “We are fully aware that America’s strength and America’s support can truly bring peace closer, and we do not want to lose that.” Then Zelenskyy acknowledged, in a backhanded fashion, that Trump might have engaged with Putin more substantially this time than in August, when Zelenskyy said on Nov. 20 that the U.S. “has the power to ensure that Russia’s willingness to end the war finally becomes serious.”
