After consultations with its European allies, Ukraine sent Washington a revised response to the latest version of the peace plan, but Kyiv does not accept the US proposal in its current form. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, major disagreements remain over territory, security guarantees, and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, while the White House hopes to secure a political result by Christmas.
On December 11, Zelensky told reporters that the US draft envisaged the withdrawal of Russian forces from parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. At the same time, he said, Russia was refusing to leave the positions it holds in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. On December 12, Ukrainian forces said they had retaken part of front-line Kupiansk, which Valery Gerasimov had reported to Vladimir Putin as captured on November 20.
“This is not a final plan, it is a response to what we received... the plan is constantly being refined and edited, and this is an ongoing process,” Zelensky said.
Political analysts Volodymyr Fesenko and Georgy Chizhov, speaking to Novaya Gazeta Europe, said the acceleration of US diplomacy does not remove the basic contradictions between Kyiv and Moscow. In their view, the central dispute concerns the status of occupied territories, and the idea of withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donbas does not look like a basis for a lasting compromise. On December 12, the Kremlin said such a withdrawal was an important part of the peace plan; presidential aide Yury Ushakov said order in Donbas could be maintained by police and the National Guard.
As Axios and The Guardian reported, citing Zelensky’s remarks, Donald Trump’s administration wants to reach “full mutual understanding” on the plan by Christmas and is discussing a scenario in which Ukrainian troops leave Donbas and a “free economic zone” is then created in the territories controlled by Kyiv. Zelensky said Ukraine does not consider such an approach fair without reliable guarantees, and that only the Ukrainian people can decide on territorial concessions.
The publication’s sources doubt that any agreement can be reached within the remaining time. Fesenko argues that Moscow is using the talks as a tactical instrument and has shown no real willingness to end the war, while the shuttle format of US-mediated contacts only slows the process. Military expert Roman Svitan said the army and the majority of society would not accept a voluntary surrender of territory. Former SBU officer Ivan Stupak also called a Christmas deal unrealistic and warned that concessions involving the unoccupied part of the Donetsk region would trigger a severe political and legal crisis inside Ukraine.
The White House said Trump would send his representative to talks in Europe this weekend if there were a real opportunity to sign an agreement. A meeting of senior officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom is expected in Paris on Saturday, and according to Sky News, Zelensky may visit Berlin on Monday.