Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Nov. 21 that Ukraine is facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history,” responding to a leaked U.S. 28-point peace plan that could require Kyiv to accept permanent NATO non-alignment, strict limits on its armed forces, and de-facto recognition of Russian control over Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk.
In a video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is under “the heaviest pressure we have faced,” telling his compatriots that the country may be pushed toward accepting an agreement that could mean accepting hard-to-stomach terms to secure peace.
“Either a loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner,” he said, referring to the United States. “Either accepting a difficult 28-point plan, or entering an extremely hard winter—the hardest yet—with further risks beyond it. A life without freedom, without dignity, without justice. And we would be asked to trust the one who has already attacked us twice.”…