By John Q. Hosedrinker 
European leaders and President Zelensky are urgently working to revise key aspects of a US peace proposal before the November 27 deadline, aiming to make it more palatable to Kyiv. The proposed framework, which includes Ukraine recognizing regions under Russian control, holding elections, and abandoning NATO ambitions, is being met with resistance. While the Trump administration is preparing to brief European allies on the plan, and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll is leading the effort, the US has also indicated flexibility on the timeline. Both Zelensky and Putin have commented on the plan, with Putin suggesting it could be a basis for settlement, while Zelensky is working with both America and Europe to find a solution.
Read the original article here
Zelensky, European Leaders Rush to Rewrite US Peace Plan Ahead of Thanksgiving Deadline
The core of the issue boils down to this: Russia needs to leave Ukraine. Period. It’s that simple. Considering the relentless clarity with which Russia has stated its intentions – to hold all of Ukraine or to fight until they can’t – why complicate matters? Why impose deadlines, especially when the main source of aid for Ukraine is the European Union? It seems almost absurd to me that the US is driving this particular train. The focus should be on facilitating Ukraine’s survival and its right to self-determination.
The initial US “peace plan,” however, seems to be a non-starter. It’s essentially dead on arrival. Putin won’t even accept his own envoy peace agreement so it’s dead on arrival. This entire fiasco is yet another failed attempt by Donald Trump and his court of dip shits to assign blame on Ukraine for being invaded by Vladimir Putins Russia. It’s a rehash of the same old tune: blaming Ukraine for not conceding everything, including its ability to defend itself. Trump, as the architect, would inevitably favor Putin, placing the blame squarely on Zelenskyy and Ukraine for any perceived lack of agreement. The world sees through this, and it’s a clear attempt to give Putin what he wants while expecting Ukraine to simply accept it. The irony is, Trump would then likely demand a Nobel Peace Prize for enabling a dictator who has been an enemy of the US for decades.
This isn’t just about politics; it’s about a nation being invaded and its people being subjected to unimaginable suffering. Zelenskyy deserves respect, not the burden of navigating these absurd “peace plans.” The frustration is palpable, and many feel it’s time for Europe to step up. Waiting for the US to come up with a plan is unproductive. If the EU wants a peace plan, they should come up with it themselves. The unwillingness of Europe to fight for freedom is going to be really bad in the future. The reality is this, there is no path to victory for Ukraine without European soldiers on the ground, but there is no volunteering to do this, at least not that anyone is seeing.
Now, if a deal were to be realistically considered, what would it look like? It’s unlikely Ukraine will reclaim all lost territory. Would this look like frozen frontlines, de facto recognition of “Eastern Ukraine” under a Russian puppet government, a demilitarized zone, and no restrictions on Ukraine’s military and its possible entry into NATO and the EU? While sanctions should remain in place until the Russian threat is neutralized. This plan in particular, gives Ukraine nothing. It’s the kind of surrender a nation would only consider when on the brink of total collapse, not when they are slowly losing ground. This is a weakness on the part of the US and EU. The real question is how to get Russia out of Ukraine, how to get their people home, how to get them to relinquish their assets to rebuild Ukraine, how to make sure Russia doesn’t invade again, and when do the sanctions lift?
The only way to make Russia back down is for Europe to unite and declare they will put peacekeeping forces in Ukraine from the front lines to the border with Poland. If even one of these forces is killed, they will start targeting Russia. This is not going to happen because no one is willing to call Russia’s nuclear bluff. Russia needs to be running out of time. With the release of the Epstein papers, Trump’s influence will wane. Thus, if anything, Moscow’s ally will change its tune and back Ukraine.
A more reasonable plan, starting from Ukraine’s perspective, should include Russia vacating all Ukrainian territory taken since 2014, an armed Ukraine capable of defending itself, Ukraine’s right to join NATO, and Ukraine vacating all Russian territory taken since 2022. Everything else is just a way for Putin to win.
However, the plan must include steps to prevent future Russian aggression, address reparations for Ukraine, and ensure its economic survival. Otherwise, it is a non-starter. Ukraine is losing ground, and its manpower situation isn’t going to improve. In the meantime, some are debating how much to reward the aggressor for land grabs and war crimes. Then, you also have to ask, how do you get the children they kidnapped and took back to Ukraine.
The only way to get this done is to ensure the conditions are set so that Russia won’t invade. Russia is in no position to do anything about it at this point. The US has to get out of the negotiation process, which has been severely compromised. Europe should call their bluff, and start over from Ukraine’s perspective. If Europe wants to back up their word, they have to put some action behind it and step up. The only people who can stop this madness are the representatives in congress, so if they get a veto-proof majority for sanctioning Russia, then this deal is dead on arrival.
A 100km DMZ on the Russian side should also be implemented with war crimes trials. I’ve seen and read about so many cases of murder, torture, sexual abuse, degradation of POWs, degradation of corpses, etc. Heinous crimes committed systematically and on a mass scale. The US is only making deals that favor Russia, so they can get something out of it. The idea is to tweak the plans to remove ambiguous bits that Trump put in. It’s time to build a solution that will make sure Russia can agree to it.