Ukraine facing ´one of the most difficult moments´ amid US peace push: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country is facing "one of the most difficult moments" in its history as it considers the U.S.-proposed 28-point peace plan, reported Xinhua.

"We are now in one of the most difficult moments in our history. The pressure on Ukraine is at its heaviest. Ukraine could now face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner. Either the difficult 28 points, or an extremely difficult winter," Zelensky said in his address to the nation.

The next week will be very challenging and full of events, Zelensky said, noting that he plans to propose alternatives to amend the U.S. plan and that Ukraine's interests must be taken into account in the document.

Zelensky stressed that he will present arguments, persuade, and offer alternatives but will not give the enemy any reason to claim that Ukraine does not want peace.

On Thursday, Zelensky announced that the U.S. side presented him with a plan aimed at ending the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

U.S. media reports say the current draft plan contains 28 points, including major territorial concessions by Ukraine and sharp reductions in its armed forces.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he discussed a U.S.-proposed peace plan during a joint phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Zelensky wrote on X that the participants of the talks coordinated their next steps and agreed that their teams will work together.

"We are coordinating closely to make sure that the principled stances are taken into account," Zelensky said.

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Friday that the Ukrainian and U.S. delegations held a meeting to discuss ways for achieving peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"We discussed approaches to restoring a just peace, the sequence of next steps, and realistic formats for further dialogue," Umerov said on Facebook.

Ukraine is carefully studying every proposal from partners, he noted.