In a development seen as pivotal in the ongoing peace negotiations, Donald Trump has received a proposal detailing potential territorial compromises Ukraine might consider in a peace agreement with Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced today.

Merz elaborated that this document was dispatched to Trump following his discussions with various European leaders on Wednesday. However, he emphasized that any decision regarding land concessions lies solely with President Zelensky and the Ukrainian populace.

“The proposal primarily addresses the issue of what territorial concessions Ukraine is willing to contemplate,” Merz stated.

He underscored that ultimately, “the decision rests with the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people.”

During a press conference alongside NATO head Mark Rutte, Merz pointed out, “Forcing the Ukrainian president into a peace deal that his people would reject, after years marked by suffering and loss, would be a grave mistake.”

On Wednesday, Trump expressed impatience with Ukraine and its European allies France, Britain and Germany.

Trump said ‘strong words’ were exchanged in the phone call with Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Merz said that further talks with the Americans were planned this weekend and that an international meeting on Ukraine ‘could take place at the beginning of next week’.

 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that US President Donald Trump had been sent a proposal on territorial concessions Ukraine is ready to make to end its war against Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron (R), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (2nd R), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (2nd L) leave 10 Downing Street after their meeting in London, United Kingdom on December 8

Pictured: A handout photo made available by the State Emergency Service shows a fire in a residential area after Russian missiles and drone strikes in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, December 6

‘Whether the American government participates or not very much depends on the joint drafts of papers which are currently being worked on,’ he said.

Merz said his conversation with Trump on Wednesday had ‘left the strong impression that he is ready to go down this path with us, because he knows that the Europeans and their interests have to be heard’.

While Merz did not say whether the proposal sent to Trump forms part of a wider peace framework, U.S. and Ukrainian officials are separately working through a broad package of ideas for a potential settlement. 

These include fast-tracking Ukraine into the EU by 2027, offering ‘Article 5-style’ U.S. security guarantees, creating a Korea-style demilitarised zone along the front line, exploring land-swaps, returning the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Ukrainian control and unlocking up to $200 billion in frozen Russian assets to rebuild the country.

Officials say the wider negotiation consists of three draft documents – a peace plan, a security-guarantee framework and an economic recovery package – though talks remain far from final.

The leaders of Germany, Britain and France were among those expected to take part in Thursday’s meeting of Ukraine’s allies, dubbed the ‘coalition of the willing’, via video link.  

Merz said the proposal was sent after he and other European leaders had spoken by phone with Trump on Wednesday.

A handout picture made available by the Dnipropetrovsk Region Prosecutor’s Office shows Ukrainian firefighters extinguishing a fire after Russian missiles and drone strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine

An employee walks at a thermal power plant damaged by recent Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location of Ukraine December 10

Zelensky indicated the talks were hastily arranged as Kyiv officials scramble to avoid getting boxed in by the US president’s demands for a swift settlement.

European governments are trying to help steer the peace negotiations because they say their own security is at stake.

Trump said on Wednesday that he and European leaders had discussed proposals by phone in ‘pretty strong terms’, adding that Zelensky ‘has to be realistic’ about his country’s position on a peace plan that would cede Ukrainian territory to Russia. He did not elaborate. 

Asked about the call, Merz shrugged off suggestions of a clash with Trump and insisted their conversation was ‘constructive’, with both sides showing ‘mutual respect’. 

He said Trump had been sent a proposal outlining potential territorial concessions Ukraine may be prepared to make to end the war.

‘It mainly concerns the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make,’ Merz said. 

But he cautioned that ‘the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people have to answer the question’, adding that it would be a mistake to force Kyiv into a deal it cannot accept. 

Trump’s latest effort to broker a settlement is taking longer than he wanted. 

He initially set a hard deadline for Kyiv to accept his peace plan before Thanksgiving at the end of November, but previous Washington deadlines have already passed without a breakthrough. 

Russia is also keen to show Trump it is engaging with his peace efforts, hoping to avoid any further US sanctions.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia has relayed to Washington ‘additional proposals … concerning collective security guarantees’ that Ukraine and Europe say are needed to deter future aggression.

‘We understand that when discussing security guarantees, we cannot limit ourselves to Ukraine alone,’ Lavrov said. He did not offer details of the Kremlin’s proposals.

Meanwhile, Ukraine launched one of its biggest drone attacks of the nearly four-year war overnight, forcing flights in and out of all four Moscow airports to be halted for seven hours.

Airports in eight other cities across Russia also faced restrictions, Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Thursday.

The Russian defence ministry said air defences intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions.

An apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Dobropillia

Another damaged building in Dobropillia which was reduced to rubble following Russian strikes

The display of Ukraine’s military capability to strike deep inside Russia appeared as a counter to the Kremlin’s argument that its invasion is overwhelming for its smaller neighbour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength, analysts say. But since launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured only about 20% of Ukraine.

There are signs that the negotiations are coming to a crossroads. The talks are at ‘a critical moment’, European leaders said in a statement on Wednesday.

Next week, Ukraine will co-ordinate with European countries on a bilateral level,  Zelensky said late on Wednesday.

‘Ukraine is working swiftly,’ he said.

It comes after earlier this week Trump erupted at Zelensky for not accepting his Ukraine peace deal and warned that Russia has the ‘upper hand’ in the war.

The President said that the Ukrainian leader needs to ‘get his act together and start accepting things’.

Trump also issued withering criticism for America’s ‘weak’ European allies, accusing them of ‘talking too much’ while ‘not delivering’ peace for the Ukrainian people.

‘I think they’re weak,’ the commander-in-chief told Politico in an interview. ‘But I also think that they want to be so politically correct.’

‘I think they don’t know what to do,’ he added. ‘Europe doesn’t know what to do.’

Trump last month ratcheted pressure on Zelensky and Vladimir Putin as he unveiled a 28-point peace plan, modeled on his landmark Gaza deal.

However, the plan faces significant hurdles, particularly concerning Ukraine’s potential territorial concessions to Russia and measures to protect against future military action.

When pressed on whether Kyiv or Moscow holds greater leverage at the negotiating table, Trump was unequivocal: ‘There can be no doubt about that. It’s Russia. It’s a much bigger country.’