--- title: Trump Pressures Zelensky as Peace Deal Tensions Escalate description: Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.” canonical: https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-12-09T18:54:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:39:46.592Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Zelensky to Sign Peace Deal og:description: Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.” og:url: https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c141c17958f4c3/6998c6f3d32e937310cd70b8/GettyImages-2201823804.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 8256 og:image:height: 4644 og:image:alt: US-UKRAINE-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-ZELENSKY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Zelensky to Sign Peace Deal twitter:description: Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c141c17958f4c3/6998c6f3d32e937310cd70b8/GettyImages-2201823804.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Zelensky to Sign Peace Deal: 'Russia Has the Upper Hand' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Dec 9, 2025 6:54 PM UTC  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense exchange in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2025. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense exchange in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2025.Saul Loeb—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Dec 9, 2025 6:54 PM UTC President Donald Trump intensified his pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to move forward with the [U.S.-led peace plan,](https://time.com/7336513/trump-ukraine-peace-plan-disaster/) claiming that “Russia has the upper hand” in the war and Ukraine is “losing.” “I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the bravery and for the fighting, and all of that,” Trump [told POLITICO](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/donald-trump-full-interview-transcript-00681693?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nname=playbook&nrid=a78bbdeb-959a-4bbc-b083-b7dbe744f560) in a wide-ranging interview conducted on Monday. “But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.” Trump has expressed frustration with the apparent lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace discussions. He accused Zelensky of not having read the latest version of the peace proposal while talking to reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night. The version was submitted by the Trump Administration after high-stakes talks between a U.S. delegation, led by special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow [last week ended without a breakthrough](https://time.com/7338115/putin-issues-warning-to-europe-russia-ukraine-peace-talks/). **Read More**: [_Putin Issues Grave Warning to Europe as Russia-U.S. Talks on Ukraine Peace Plan End Without Breakthrough_](https://time.com/7338115/putin-issues-warning-to-europe-russia-ukraine-peace-talks/) Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. (who is not a member of the Administration but is a prominent MAGA figure) said Sunday at an event in Qatar that his father “may” walk away from the peace talks. “No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong,” Trump told POLITICO when asked if his son’s comments were accurate. Trump also said that Ukraine should hold elections, accusing Kyiv’s leadership of “using war not to hold an election,” and suggesting that the country is losing the values of democracy. **Read More:** [_Trump Needs a New Ukraine Strategy_](https://time.com/7338952/trump-ukraine-putin-russia-strategy/) Trump’s latest remarks regarding the [Russia-Ukraine war](https://time.com/6150708/russia-ukraine-invasion-war/) come amid heightened tensions between his office and Ukraine’s European allies. In the White House’s [National Security Strategy](https://time.com/7339171/trump-national-security-strategy-europe/), released last week, the Administration called the negotiated end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “core interest” for Europe, but criticized nations that “hold unrealistic expectations for the war perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition.” Trump doubled down on his criticism of European leaders during his interview on Monday, accusing them of being “weak” because they “want to be politically correct.” **Read More**: [_The Proposed Land Concessions at the Heart of the Russia-Ukraine Stalemate_](https://time.com/7337963/putin-witkoff-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-trump-key-issues/) The initial 28-point peace plan put together by the Trump Administration was met with skepticism from Ukraine, their European allies, and even some American officials after a [widely-leaked draft ](https://time.com/7335666/trump-plan-to-end-russia-ukraine-war-zelensky-response/)showed echoes to Russian demands. The proposal suggested that Ukraine agree to cede the entire Donbas region—including parts that Russian forces do not occupy. U.S. and Ukraine delegations worked on a refined framework for the peace plan, addressing Zelensky’s concerns about proposed land concessions and security guarantees. But the Russian delegation noted that elements of the updated proposal were “absolutely unacceptable” to the Kremlin. Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure from the U.S. to sign a peace deal, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.” “Russia insists that we give up territories,” the Ukrainian President told reporters on Monday, according to the[ New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/world/europe/zelensky-ukraine-war-peace-talks-europe-london.html). “We, of course, do not want to give anything away. That is exactly what we are fighting for.” He added: “The Americans today are looking for a compromise. I’ll be frank.”  TIME **Read More**_:_ [_Zelensky Says Ukraine Faces Losing Dignity as Trump Issues Deadline to Sign His New Peace Plan_](https://time.com/7335666/trump-plan-to-end-russia-ukraine-war-zelensky-response/) Zelensky presented a united front with his European allies on Monday, meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London. Europe’s leaders reiterated their unyielding support for Ukraine. “The principles remain the principles that we've been based on for a very, very long time, which is that we stand with Ukraine, and if there's to be a cease-fire it needs to be a just and lasting cease-fire,” Starmer said. Zelensky is now set to send a revised version of the peace plan to the U.S. “We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war. The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the U.S.,” Zelensky said on [Tuesday](https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1998407889254228151?s=20). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/"},"headline":"Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Zelensky to Sign Peace Deal: 'Russia Has the Upper Hand'","datePublished":"2025-12-09T18:54:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:39:46.592Z","description":"Zelensky has responded to the mounting pressure, reiterating that Ukraine will not concede land to its “aggressor.”","url":"https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/","keywords":["Ukraine","Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c141c17958f4c3/6998c6f3d32e937310cd70b8/GettyImages-2201823804.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02c141c17958f4c3/6998c6f3d32e937310cd70b8/GettyImages-2201823804.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-UKRAINE-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-ZELENSKY","caption":"US-UKRAINE-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-ZELENSKY","creditText":"Saul Loeb—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ukraine/","name":"Ukraine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7339640/trump-zelensky-pressure-russia-ukraine-peace-plan/","name":"Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Zelensky to Sign Peace Deal: 'Russia Has the Upper Hand'"}}]}] ```