Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking the best possible way forward for his country as the conflict with Russia approaches its fourth year and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace deal that would require major concessions.
The White House’s 28-point peace plan has drawn heavy criticism for being seen as favoring Russia. However, lessons learned from a heated exchange at the White House in late February have made President Zelensky realize that he cannot simply reject the terms proposed by the United States outright.
With support from European allies, he has recently and cautiously developed a more flexible “conditional agreement” strategy, aimed at modifying—rather than rejecting—President Trump’s peace plan.
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Under U.S. pressure, Ukraine’s leader has said he is willing to hold elections, but only after a ceasefire is in place. He stated that Russia could continue operating Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, but control should rest with Kyiv and Washington. He also acknowledged that the size of Ukraine’s armed forces could be limited, but must remain at its current level.
This approach allows President Zelensky to avoid angering President Trump while also preventing Ukraine from accepting overly unfavorable terms in peace negotiations.
“We are not betraying our country or giving up our independence—that is what matters. At the same time, we are acting constructively,” President Zelensky said on December 11. His negotiating position was strengthened this week by a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the city of Kupyansk, which Russia claimed to have captured last month. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president had another opportunity to directly present his views to the U.S. side during meetings with President Trump’s envoys in Berlin, Germany.
On December 14, President Zelensky held five hours of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin. This round of negotiations was seen as important in pushing efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, and Zelensky once again expressed Ukraine’s willingness to compromise.
Ahead of the meeting, he said Ukraine would give up its ambition to join NATO, at least for now, provided that Kyiv receives strong security guarantees from Washington to prevent renewed conflict after a peace deal is signed. “These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent a new wave of Russian attacks. This is already a compromise on our part,” he said, stressing that any guarantees must be legally binding and backed by the U.S. Congress.
However, he reaffirmed that Ukraine does not want to make territorial concessions as proposed by the United States.
“I believe the most important thing is that the peace plan must be as fair as possible, first and foremost for Ukraine, because Russia is the party that started the war. Moreover, it must be feasible. A plan cannot just be a piece of paper—it must be a meaningful step toward ending the conflict,” President Zelensky said.
Previously, the U.S. and Ukraine had major differences over the peace plan. Washington has pushed Kyiv to hand over the entire Donbass region to Russia, including areas of Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. The U.S. also wants Ukraine to abandon its ambition to join NATO, which is written into the country’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the plan Ukraine submitted to the U.S. on the evening of December 10 clearly states that Ukraine will not give up territories it currently controls and removes any provision permanently banning Ukraine from joining NATO. The draft prepared by President Zelensky’s administration requires that any territorial concessions be put to a national referendum in Ukraine.
Ukraine enshrined its goal of NATO membership in its constitution in 2019, despite warnings from Russia that this posed a security threat to Moscow. Russia later cited this as one of the reasons for launching its military operation in Ukraine in late February 2022. More than six months after the conflict began, Ukraine formally applied to join NATO.
At the NATO summit in Washington at the end of 2024, alliance members reaffirmed that Ukraine’s path to membership is “irreversible.”
“Initially, Ukraine’s condition—or more precisely, our ambition—was to become a NATO member. That would provide real security guarantees,” Zelensky said.
However, he also acknowledged that NATO membership is highly unlikely without the consent of President Trump, who has repeatedly opposed the idea.
Zelensky’s readiness to abandon NATO aspirations is seen as a necessary step to remove one of the key obstacles. He also suggested that Ukraine may be willing to accept a ceasefire along the current front lines. “A fair and feasible option is to stay where we are,” he said.
In the U.S. peace proposal, Washington suggested creating a “free economic zone” in Ukraine to serve as a security buffer between areas controlled by Kyiv and those held by Moscow, according to Zelensky. Rather than rejecting the idea outright, he raised questions about its details—specifically, what would prevent Russia from advancing and taking control once Ukraine withdraws its forces.
President Zelensky has used a similar strategy in the past. When the Trump administration pressured Ukraine to sign an agreement allowing U.S. companies access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, Kyiv did not immediately agree but instead sought to delay in order to revise the terms in its favor.
“‘We respect you very much, but we cannot sign it because we have constraints’ has become a familiar phrase among Ukrainian negotiators,” said Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.
Fesenko said President Zelensky’s method is to push partners to discuss specific issues, including how to implement contentious points between the two sides. This allows him to continue constructive dialogue without conceding on core issues.
“We just need to endure the psychological pressure, pause for a moment, and say that we are ready to discuss. Then let’s sit down and go through each point,” Fesenko said. After the December 14 talks concluded, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on X that the two sides had held in-depth discussions on the peace plan. “Significant progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning,” he said.
A source familiar with the matter said the negotiations were difficult, as the U.S. side appeared unwilling to make concessions in its draft peace proposal.
Russian officials have said the U.S. peace plan is a “good basis for discussion,” but have not confirmed whether they would accept it. President Vladimir Putin said Russia is winning on the battlefield. Even as peace talks continue, Russia has kept up attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and continued advancing along the eastern front.
Despite slim prospects for peace, President Zelensky continues to work to maintain support from President Trump. On December 14, the Ukrainian leader said he believes the United States can force President Putin to accept a deal.
“If the U.S. truly wants to end the war as it says it does, I believe the Russians will have to compromise,” he said.