23 November 2025
SIR – America’s present proposals to end the war in Ukraine (report, November 21) are insulting, and devastating for the Ukrainians. If Donald Trump will not take action against Russia, Europe must take the initiative and assist Ukraine in every way possible to resist defeat.
Jennie Naylor
East Preston, West Sussex
SIR – As it stands, Donald Trump’s proposal for resolving the Ukraine conflict is the most disgraceful document I have ever seen. In the event that it is implemented, I doubt history will forgive him.
Captain Colin Hamilton RN (retd)
Chichester, West Sussex
SIR – Given that the draft peace deal requires Ukraine to surrender the Donbas and halve the size of its military, anyone would think that Volodymyr Zelensky was the original aggressor. These are the terms that should be imposed on Russia.
Robin Jéquier
Devizes, Wiltshire
SIR – Vladimir Putin only understands force, and all attempts to negotiate are seen as weakness. If he is allowed to feel victorious, we are in for further trouble.
Jonathan Ward
Long Melford, Suffolk
SIR – Many who have been outraged by the horror Ukraine has suffered after almost four years of unprovoked slaughter and destruction by Russian forces will read the 28-point peace plan with deep dismay. In essence, it enables Russia to retain all the land – and more – that it has captured by force since invading Crimea in 2014, and to make few concessions. Yet what is the realistic alternative?
Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump proved willing to enable Ukraine to deploy overwhelming force against Vladimir Putin’s army. Europe’s leaders have failed to provide the military strength and financial support that would have made a real difference, and international sanctions against Russia have not worked. While Britain has done more than some, the conflict has thrown into stark relief just how much our own Armed Forces and military capacity have withered.
Ukraine has not rejected the plan outright and is ready to negotiate. As unjust as it may seem, it does at least offer a path to peace and a cessation of the killing, trauma, destruction and displacement that Ukraine has suffered for too long. If peace does prevail, the West must guarantee its permanence – with razor-sharp teeth.
David Platts
Newark, Nottinghamshire
SIR – The Commons defence committee’s conclusion that this country is wide open to attack (“Britain not ready to defend itself”, report, November 19) is both unsurprising and alarming. It will not be troops landing on the Lincolnshire coast that we have to worry about, but enemy missiles getting through our woeful air defence and laying waste to Britain’s infrastructure. We could face damaged roads and railways, food shortages, a lack of fuel, no banking, intermittent electricity and no internet.
The Navy and RAF need much greater investment if they are to be able to defend our sea and air space for more than a few days. The Army is also the smallest it has been for centuries, but the heavy lifting will be done in eastern Europe by troops from Poland, Germany and other nations. In the meantime, Britain must concentrate on building up its national resilience.
Andrew Pope
Upavon, Wiltshire
…………..
Trump: Ukraine peace plan isn’t my final offer
23 November 2025
Donald Trump has signalled he is ready to make concessions to Ukraine after Sir Keir Starmer said America’s peace deal risked leaving the country open to Russian attack.
On Saturday, the US president said his 28-point proposal, under which Ukraine would surrender key territory and cut the size of its army, was “not my final offer”.
“We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago… We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other we have to get it ended,” he said.
Asked whether the plan, which was rejected by European leaders, was his final offer to end the war with Russia, he said: “No, not my final offer.”
However, Mr Trump added that if Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, did not accept the plan by the Thursday deadline then he could “continue to fight his little heart out”.
Sir Keir, alongside Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron, the German and French leaders, criticised elements of the plan on Saturday, warning that it would force Ukraine to give up territory by force and leave it defenceless to further aggression.
Speaking at the G20 summit in South Africa, he said he was “concerned” about the idea of a military cap, arguing that it was “fundamental that Ukraine has to be able to defend itself if there’s a ceasefire”.
“Obviously, I think it should be done as soon as possible, but it’s got to be a just and lasting peace, and so we’ve got to get it right,” he added.
The British Government is concerned that if Ukraine is forced to give up a portion of its armed forces, it will be vulnerable to another surprise winter offensive by Russia this year.
Officials fear Russia could breach a peace deal, as it did in May, when it launched hundreds of drone and missile strikes during a three-day ceasefire.
A reduction in the number of Ukrainian military personnel, which currently stands at between 800,000 and 850,000 people, would make it easier for Russia to target the country’s critical energy infrastructure during the coldest months of the year.
That has long been a strategy of Vladimir Putin’s forces, who launched a brutal winter offensive in subzero temperatures over 2022 and 2023, in an unsuccessful attempt to claim the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
The US plan proposes a 600,000 personnel cap on Kyiv’s armed forces, the loss of three provinces to Russia, including Crimea, and Russia’s return to the G7, making it the G8.
As part of Mr Trump’s plan, Ukraine would not be allowed to host Nato troops and foreign fighter jets could only be stationed in Poland.
Mr Trump’s comments mark a shift from his previous position, that Mr Zelensky would “have to like” the peace deal. US officials have threatened to stop sending weapons and sharing intelligence with Ukraine if the demands are not met.
Putin told his security cabinet on Friday that he was willing to “show flexibility” but was also prepared to continue fighting.
The Russian leader said that “Ukraine and its European allies” were still “dreaming” of defeating Russia on the battlefield, but that his troops would take more territory by force if the deal was not agreed.
He said: “If Kyiv does not want to discuss President Trump’s proposals, and refuses to do so, then both it and the European warmongers must understand that the events that took place in Kupiansk [a recent victory for Russia] will inevitably be repeated in other key sectors of the front.”
Mr Zelensky is arguably in a weak negotiating position. The apparent impending fall of Pokrovsk, a road and rail link, would make the key Donbas garrison cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk more vulnerable.
Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir’s national security adviser, will meet European, Ukrainian and American counterparts, including Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy, in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the future of the plan.
Mr Powell is expected to argue that Western countries cannot put any conditions on Ukraine’s ability to fight back, in case the ceasefire breaks down and Putin is handed a battlefield advantage.
That position, which is shared with other Western allies, suggests there is little confidence among Ukraine’s friends in Europe that Russia will keep to its promises after a deal is signed.
Western defence officials are, however, understood to be heartened by one of the suggestions in the US plan: to give Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees and assurances that an attack by Russia would be treated as an attack on the entire “transatlantic community”.
They are expected to tell Mr Rubio that the US cannot negotiate Nato-backed security guarantees without first consulting the rest of the alliance. Mr Trump’s plan would also ban Ukraine from joining Nato, despite support from member countries for offering membership after the war.
US sources told the website Axios that the deal would be a “collaboration” between the US, Ukraine and Russia and that the agreement might change.
Mr Zelensky, who has said his country faces a choice between losing its “dignity” by accepting Mr Trump’s plan or losing a key ally in the United States, spoke to Sir Keir twice on Saturday night, including a call also joined by Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister.
Mr Zelensky said he and Sir Keir had a “long conversation and covered many nuances of diplomatic work in planning the peace process”.
“Co-ordination will continue, and I am grateful to the British society for their support,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader also echoed private concerns in European capitals by warning of a “third invasion” and “another blow to Ukraine” if he is not given security guarantees in any peace agreement.
Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who was briefed on the plan by Mr Trump’s team, has said he was more optimistic about the deal than previous attempts at a ceasefire because “the Russian position is really being heard”.
Mr Trump’s decision to consult Russia instead of Ukraine when putting together his plan has angered some European leaders, who felt blindsided when it emerged in news reports.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, said he had spoken to Mr Trump and told him “the entire European continent” was at stake in the negotiations, while Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, warned that Russia “cannot impose its conditions on Ukraine and Europe”.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said Mr Trump’s peace plan “needs to be revisited,” arguing that it could undermine European and Nato sovereignty.
Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump on Saturday evening and “relayed the discussions that have been taking place between Coalition of the Willing partners in attendance at the G20 summit”, a spokesman said. They are expected to speak again on Sunday.
The leaders of the Nordic-Baltic eight also said they had spoken to Mr Zelensky and would continue to support Kyiv and arm Ukraine to help fight Russian aggression.
The group of eight countries, which includes Demark, Estonia and Sweden, said that Ukraine is “ready to negotiate and, as stated by President Zelensky, is working on the document prepared by the US”, while Russia has “so far not committed to a ceasefire or any steps leading to peace”.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, insisted on Saturday evening that the peace deal was authored by Washington and based on input from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides, despite criticism.
“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations,” he posted on X.
“It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
“However, Mr Trump added that if Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, did not accept the plan by the Thursday deadline then he could “continue to fight his little heart out”.
The words of a ruffian; a degenerate with the empathy of a slug.
Just when you think he can’t sink any lower, he does just that.
The letters to the editor are excellent, but they don’t address the obvious:
If Europe wants to help Ukraine, they simply must commit troops and aircraft.
Putler still has plenty of cash, plenty of orcs, plenty of murderous weapons and the risk of a timely economic meltdown is unfortunately still very low.
Can you imagine that Krasnov actually thought it would be a good idea to ban long range missiles for Ukraine and half its army, whilst putler doubles his?
Pure, concentrated evil.
Commenter Captain Hamilton has it right.
“Now is the moment for Europe to do everything it can to support Ukraine”
The continent is a day late and a nickel short, in this regard. This should’ve happened four years ago already.
Europe is not doing what must be done, even if this war touches or crosses its own borders. Just the other day, the Romanians evacuated a village due to the danger of a gas ship exploding. Then, they practically watched as the roaches attacked a border crossing. In neither case did they even attempt to defend against those threats while still in Ukrainian airspace, even though Kyiv said many times it’s okay.
Europe … where 500,000.000 people depend on 350,000,000 people to protect them from 140,000,000 people. It’s hard to imagine that this place once dominated almost the entire planet.
Since 2008; the arrival of Obama as president, Europe has been living in a false reality. I include the UK in this. As a commenter in the DT observed only today : we spend six times the money we spend on our armed forces on our NHS.
This is just absurd.
Since the departure of Dubya, Nato became a useless organization not fit for purpose.
I have been saying since 2014 that a new military/intel-sharing/trade bloc needs to be formed to replace Nato. The only necessary qualifications for members are the commitment to fight Russia by any means necessary, including by military force and the military capability to do so.
Originally I envisaged the core of this new alliance to be the Five Eyes.
As we know, it has become the Four Eyes. I propose making it back up to Five with the addition of Ukraine.
Any other country willing to join would be accepted provided they meet the two key requirements.
I would hope and expect the Scandies to join.
I would not expect Poland, France or Germany to join, but you never know …..
If the “New Five Eyes” integrated their militaries, they would be a formidable force.
Hopefully after the end of magaputlerism and the imprisonment of Krasnov, America would join and take its rightful place as leader.
Taco is not forever and neither is maga. It will be Five Eyes once again when we have a real president back in office.
Americans must understand that they have elected a convicted criminal who specializes in pardoning other convicted criminals; especially those who openly work for the interests of Russia; a genocidal terrorist state, such as Manafort, Stone, Flynn and many others.
A convicted criminal who idolizes a wanted criminal and child murderer.
A convicted criminal whose family hates Ukraine as much as he does and who revere putler as much as he does.
Extract from a comment by Anthony Prior :
“Trump’s son Eric has told us about his relationship with Russia. His businesses are in hock to Russian banks and he has a number of lucrative business projects in Russia. American banks won’t go near him because of his several bankruptcies and the opacity of his accounting methods. He also told the CIA to stop investigating Russian links. And the director of Russia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund visited Florida a short while ago.”
And commenter John Polenski : “Trump IS a Russian asset, and always has been. It no longer matters why. Except yet again, why did so many of you doubt this for so long? The text of the plan now appears to have been translated directly from Russian. They’re not even pretending. And the main enabler is not Witkoff, but Vance.”
Many millions of Americans understand what corruption and depravity they have in the White House. We’ve already seen the consequences of this realization in the recent elections. But, this will become even more glaringly obvious in the midterms.
“We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago… We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other we have to get it ended,”
You are only trying to get it done by pressuring innocent victims. You are a spineless POS that will go down in history with an even worse reputation than Chamberlain. You have destroyed any trust other countries had in the US, almost overnight. Even if the Republicans lose the next election, this damage will never be repaired.