Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will not betray Ukraine as he promised to propose "alternatives" to Donald Trump’s peace proposal – while Vladimir Putin backed the deal.
"This is one of the most difficult moments in our history," the Ukrainian president said in a video address to the nation on Friday, following a phone call with US vice president JD Vance.
"Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Washington has warned Kyiv to sign the framework of the US president’s peace deal by next Thursday if Ukraine wants to avoid its weapons supply being cut.
US vice president JD Vance said any plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine should preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and be acceptable to both countries but that it was a "fantasy" to think Ukraine could win if the US were to give Kyiv more money or weapons or impose more sanctions on Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Russian president appeared to show his support for the plan when he said on Friday evening that it could form the “basis” of a final settlement.
The 28-point US-proposed plan endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that Kyiv cede territory, reduce the size of its military and be barred from joining Nato.
Key Points
- Zelensky says US peace plan forces Ukraine into one of its hardest choices
- Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
- Putin backs Trump’s controversial peace plan to end Ukraine war
- Zelensky faces rebellion as Ukraine’s president under growing pressure
Trump's patience remains a question
08:00 , Namita SinghThe Trump proposal was formally presented to Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday by Dan Driscoll, the US Army secretary.
The plan itself was a surprise to Driscoll's staffers, who were not aware as late as Wednesday that their boss would be going to Ukraine as part of a team to present the plan to the Ukrainians.
Army officials walked away from that meeting with the impression that the Ukrainians were viewing the proposal as a starting point that would evolve as negotiations progressed, according to a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
It's unclear how much patience Trump has for further negotiation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump's new plan reflects "the realities of the situation" and offers the "best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give”.
Asked about Zelensky's initial hesitant response to the proposal, Trump recalled the February Oval Office blow-up with Zelensky: "You remember, right in the Oval Office, not so long ago, I said, 'You don't have the cards."
Ukraine examines the proposals
07:40 , Namita SinghUkrainian officials said they were weighing the US proposals, and Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected to talk to US president Donald Trump about it in coming days.
A US team began drawing up the plan soon after US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelensky, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Zelensky.
However, Umerov on Friday denied that version of events.
He said he only organised meetings and prepared the talks.He said technical talks between the US and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv.
"We are thoughtfully processing the partners' proposals within the framework of Ukraine's unchanging principles – sovereignty, people's security, and a just peace," he said.
Two people killed in Ukraine drone attack on energy facilities in Russia's Samara region, governor says
07:30 , Bryony GoochA Ukrainian drone attack targeted energy facilities in Russia's Samara region, killing two people in the southern city of Syzran, the region's governor said on Saturday.
The attack was repelled by air defence forces, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev wrote on Russia's state-backed Max messenger app.
Two more people were injured and were receiving medical care, the governor said.
Sen Mitch McConnell suggests Trump should dump his Ukraine advisers
07:20 , Namita SinghMitch McConnell lashed out at president Donald Trump’s advisers over the plans on Ukraine suggesting, “if administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than securing real peace, then the president ought to find new advisors”.
"Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool," the former GOP leader said in a statement.
"Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America's interests."
Ukrainian defence minister visited US to discuss peace plans with Witkoff – reports
07:17 , Namita SinghTwo people familiar with the meeting said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, was also in Miami early this week to discuss the plan with special envoy Steve Witkoff, reported Reuters.
One source familiar with the situation said that Witkoff told Umerov about the plan during that visit and that the United States gave the plan to Ukraine via the Turkish government on Wednesday, before directly presenting it in Kyiv on Thursday.
Umerov has described his role as "technical" and denied that he discussed the plan in substance with US officials.
Dmitriev and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that any peace plan "must offer security guarantees and deterrence for Ukraine, Europe and Russia" and offer economic incentives to both Ukraine and Russia.
"This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation, and to find the best win-win scenario, where both parties gain more than they must give," she said.
Donald Trump said on Friday that he expected Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to sign onto the plan by the Thanksgiving holiday.
The US has warned Ukraine it could curb military assistance if it does not sign, Reuters has reported.
Trump officials’ meeting with Russian in Miami spurs questions about latest Ukraine proposal
07:14 , Namita SinghUS officials and lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a meeting last month in which representatives of the Trump administration met with Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian envoy who is under US sanctions, to draft a plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The meeting took place in Miami at the end of October and included special envoy Steve Witkoff, president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), one of Russia's largest sovereign wealth funds.
A close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitriev has taken a leading role in talks with the US about the war and has met with Witkoff several times this year. The Trump administration has issued a special waiver to allow his entry, one senior US official told Reuters.
Dmitriev and his fund were blacklisted by the US government in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions effectively bar American citizens and companies from dealing with them.
The meeting resulted in a 28-point plan for ending the war, two people familiar with the situation said. The plan, which was made public earlier this week by Axios, came as a surprise to US officials in various corners of the administration and has stirred confusion at embassies throughout Washington and in European capitals.
It has also prompted criticism from the Ukrainians and their allies for appearing heavily tilted toward Russian interests, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky vowing on Friday that he would not betray Ukraine's interests.
Proposal meets with scepticism in the US Senate
07:00 , Namita Singh"This so-called 'peace plan' has real problems, and I am highly sceptical it will achieve peace," said Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world's most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin."
Wicker added that Ukraine should be allowed to determine the size of its military and Russian president Vladimir Putin should not be rewarded with assurances from the US.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said there's "general concern and alarm that this is a Russian wish list proposal".
Russia's war against Ukraine is 'existential threat to Europe', EU official says
06:40 , Namita SinghEuropean countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.
"Russia's war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels.
"Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide."
Donald Trump in his radio interview, pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Vladimir Putin to carry out further malign action against his European neighbours.
"He's not thinking of more war," Trump said of Putin. "He's thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now."
A European government official said the US plans weren't officially presented to Ukraine's European backers.
Many of the proposals are "quite concerning", the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.
The official was not authorised to discuss the plan publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
European Council President Antonio Costa, in Johannesburg, said of the US proposals, "The European Union has not been communicated any plans in (an) official manner."
Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine
06:20 , Namita SinghVolodymyr Zelensky spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to the US proposals that apparently caught them unawares.
Wary of antagonising US president Donald Trump, the European and Ukrainian leaders cautiously worded their responses and pointedly commended American peace efforts.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer assured Zelensky of "their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace" in Ukraine, Merz's office said.
The four leaders welcomed US efforts to end the war.
"In particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees," the statement added.
The line of contact must be the departure point for an agreement, they said, and "the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively".
Starmer said the right of Ukraine to "determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle".
Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
06:00 , Namita SinghDonald Trump said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is going to have to come to terms with the US proposal, and if he doesn't, "they should just keep fighting, I guess".
Asked by reporters about Zelensky saying his country faces a difficult choice, Trump alluded to their tense meeting in February that led to a brief rupture in the US-Ukraine relationship: "You remember right in the Oval Office not so long ago? I said you don't have the cards."
Trump in a radio interview earlier on Friday said he wants an answer from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Thursday, but said an extension is possible to finalise terms.
"I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines," Trump said in an interview on The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio.
"But Thursday is it – we think an appropriate time."
While Zelensky has offered to negotiate with the US and Russia, he signalled that Ukraine may face the prospect of losing American support if it chooses to stand firm.
He urged Ukrainians to "stop fighting" each other, in a possible reference to a major corruption scandal that has brought fierce criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week "will be very difficult”.
Putin accuses Ukraine of being unrealistic
05:40 , Namita SinghRussian president Vladimir Putin called the plan "a new version" and "a modernised plan" of what was discussed with the US ahead of his Alaska summit with president Donald Trump in August, and said Moscow has received it.
"I believe that it, too, could form the basis for a final peace settlement," he said while speaking at a meeting of Russia's National Security Council.
But he said the "text has not been discussed with us in any substantive way, and I can guess why," adding that Washington has so far been unable to gain Ukraine's consent.
"Ukraine is against it. Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under illusions and dream of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield," Putin said.
Zelensky says US peace plan forces Ukraine into one of its hardest choices
05:20 , Namita SinghUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country in an address on Friday that it could face a pivotal choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the American support it needs, as leaders discuss a US peace proposal seen as favoring Russia.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, cautiously welcomed the US plan to end Moscow's nearly four-year war in Ukraine, which contains many of the Kremlin's longstanding demands while offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine.
Putin said it "could form the basis of a final peace settlement", while accusing Ukraine of opposing the plan and being unrealistic.
The plan foresees Ukraine handing over territory to Russia – something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out – while reducing the size of its army and blocking its coveted path to Nato membership.
Zelensky, in his address hours earlier, did not reject the plan outright, but insisted on fair treatment while pledging to "work calmly" with Washington and other partners in what he called "truly one of the most difficult moments in our history".
He said he spoke for almost an hour Friday with US vice president JD Vance and Army secretary Dan Driscoll about the peace proposal.
"Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest," Zelensky said in the recorded speech.
"Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner."
Vance says it is ‘fantasy’ to think Ukraine could win against Russia with more US weapons or money
05:01 , Namita SinghUS vice president JD Vance said any plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine should preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and be acceptable to both countries but that it was a "fantasy" to think Ukraine could win if the US just gave Kyiv more money or weapons or imposed more Russian sanctions.
Any Ukraine-Russia peace plan has to:
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 22, 2025
1) Stop the killing while preserving Ukrainian sovereignty.
2) Be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine.
3) Maximize the chances the war doesn't restart.
Every criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either…
Key senators say Trump's Ukraine plan rewards Putin and weakens America
04:40 , Namita SinghSeveral prominent senators have criticised Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace plan, saying it favours Russian president Vladimir Putin, leaving the US weaker.
"This deal will not create a just and lasting peace," Democratic senators Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Mark Warner of Virginia, Patty Murray of Washington, Chris Coons of Delaware, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a statement.
"It will leave Ukraine vulnerable, Europe unstable, and America weaker."
The lawmakers added that Trump must work with Congress alongside partners in Ukraine and Nato allies "to find a lasting solution that will make Americans and the world safer."
"Let us be clear: this is a war of Russian aggression, led by a dictator who has commanded his troops to commit war crimes, steal children from their families, and torture civilians," the senators said.
"President Trump is rewarding President Putin for these crimes while cutting out the Ukrainians who have fought and died for the cause of democracy and our European allies who have stepped up to support them."
Ukraine examines US's proposals
04:20 , Tara CobhamUkrainian officials said they were weighing the US proposals, and Zelensky said he expected to talk to Trump about it in coming days.
A US team began drawing up the plan soon after US special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Rustem Umerov, a top adviser to Zelensky, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that Umerov agreed to most of the plan, after making several modifications, and then presented it to Zelensky.
However, Umerov on Friday denied that version of events. He said he only organized meetings and prepared the talks.
He said technical talks between the US and Ukraine were continuing in Kyiv.
"We are thoughtfully processing the partners' proposals within the framework of Ukraine's unchanging principles – sovereignty, people's security, and a just peace," he said.
Putin backs Trump’s controversial peace plan to end Ukraine war
04:00 , Tara CobhamRussian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Moscow had received peace proposals from the United States concerning Ukraine, suggesting the plan could form the foundation for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to senior officials in televised remarks, Mr Putin stated: "I believe that it can be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement."
He further noted that the proposals had not yet been discussed in detail with Russia.
Read more here:
Putin backs Trump’s controversial peace plan to end Ukraine war
Existential threat to Europe in Ukraine's fight against Russia
03:40 , Tara CobhamEuropean countries see their own futures at stake in Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion and have insisted on being consulted in peace efforts.
"Russia's war against Ukraine is an existential threat to Europe. We all want this war to end. But how it ends matters," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in Brussels. "Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded. Ultimately, the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide."
Trump in his radio interview pushed back against the notion that the settlement, which offers plentiful concessions to Russia, would embolden Putin to carry out further malign action on his European neighbours.
"He's not thinking of more war," Trump said of Putin. "He's thinking punishment. Say what you want. I mean, this was supposed to be a one-day war that has been four years now."
A European government official said that the U.S. plans weren't officially presented to Ukraine's European backers.
Many of the proposals are "quite concerning," the official said, adding that a bad deal for Ukraine would also be a threat to broader European security.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly.
European Council President Antonio Costa in Johannesburg said of the U.S. proposals: "The European Union has not been communicated (about) any plans in (an) official manner."
Proposed peace plan for Ukraine leaves country in a delicate position between US and Russia
03:20 , Tara CobhamAn American proposal to end the war in Ukraine puts the country in a delicate diplomatic position – caught between placating its most important ally, the United States, and not capitulating to Russia, its much larger neighbor that launched a full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.
The 28-point peace plan was crafted by US President Donald Trump's administration and the Kremlin, without Ukraine's involvement. It acquiesces to many Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal late Friday, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement” if the U.S. can get Ukraine and its European allies to agree.
Read more here:
Proposed peace plan for Ukraine leaves country in a delicate position between US and Russia
Europe says it will keep supporting Ukraine
03:00 , Tara CobhamVolodymyr Zelensky spoke earlier by phone with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, who assured him of their continued support, as European officials scrambled to respond to the US proposals that apparently caught them unawares.
Wary of antagonising Trump, the European and Ukrainian responses were cautiously worded and pointedly commended American peace efforts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured Zelensky of "their unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace" in Ukraine, Merz's office said.
The four leaders welcomed US efforts to end the war. "In particular, they welcomed the commitment to the sovereignty of Ukraine and the readiness to grant Ukraine solid security guarantees," the statement added.
The line of contact must be the departure point for an agreement, they said, and "the Ukrainian armed forces must remain in a position to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine effectively."
Starmer said the right of Ukraine to "determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle."
Comment: Defenceless Britain is a sitting duck – when Ukraine falls, we’re next
02:00 , Tara CobhamOn Thursday, the defence secretary John Healey put Vladimir Putin and his military on notice following reports of aggressive activity by the Russian surveillance ship Yantar towards an RAF plane sent to track it off the north of Scotland.
Healey said the Yantar crew had fired laser beams at the pilots of an RAF P-8 maritime patrol plane. “That Russian action is deeply dangerous,” he warned. “We see you. We know what you are doing. And if Yantar travels south this week, we are ready.”
Ready for what, you may ask? The activities of Yantar around the British Isles have been noted for nearly three years. The summer before last, the Irish coastguard spotted the ship loitering off Limerick for almost a month, close to one of the main hubs for the transatlantic communication cables. The ship comes under Russia’s GUGI agency, a separate naval command, now responsible for ocean surveillance and sabotage. Among the GUGI inventory is a mother submarine, Belgorod, which can launch underwater attack drones capable of cutting underwater cables and oil and gas pipelines.
Robert Fox writes:
Defenceless Britain is a sitting duck – when Ukraine falls, we’re next
Trump says he wants Ukraine to respond within a week
01:00 , Tara CobhamUS President Donald Trump in a radio interview on Friday said that he wants an answer from Zelensky on his 28-point plan by Thursday, but says an extension is possible to finalize terms.
"I've had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines," Trump said in an interview on the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio. "But Thursday is it – we think an appropriate time."
While Zelensky has offered to negotiate with the US and Russia, he signaled Ukraine may not get everything it wants and has to confront the possibility of losing American support if it makes a stand.
He urged Ukrainians to "stop fighting" each other, in a possible reference to a major corruption scandal that has brought fierce criticism of the government, and said peace talks next week "will be very difficult."
Watch: US has power to make Russia serious about ending Ukraine war, Zelensky says
00:00 , Tara CobhamZelensky faces rebellion as Ukraine’s president under growing pressure
Friday 21 November 2025 23:00 , Tara CobhamUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is facing a confluence of crises, testing his ability to lead an increasingly weary nation nearly four years into Russia's devastating full-scale invasion.
For more than a week, Mr Zelenskyy has struggled to contain the fallout from a \$100 million corruption scandal implicating top officials and other associates. The pressure on Mr Zelenskyy has ratcheted up as the United States pushes a proposal it drew up with Russia that would require major concessions from Ukraine — and seemingly few from Russia — to bring an end to the war.
All this is playing out as Russia makes slow but steady advances across parts of the 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line and relentlessly bombs Ukraine's power plants, causing severe electricity shortages as colder weather sets in.
Here are 5 things to know about the growing pressures confronting Zelensky:
Zelensky faces rebellion as Ukraine’s president under growing pressure
Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg expected to leave his post as new peace plan emerges
Friday 21 November 2025 22:00 , Tara CobhamDonald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has informed the White House he'll leave his post in January, according to two senior administration officials.
The move comes as the White House is working on a new peace plan aimed at bringing an end to Russia's war in Ukraine that is being largely coordinated by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. That plan calls for major concessions by Kyiv, including ceding territory to Russia and abandoning certain weaponry.
The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity about Kellogg's expected departure from the administration. They declined to comment on why Kellogg was departing. News of Kellogg's expected exit was first reported by Reuters.
Kellogg was initially named special envoy for Ukraine and Russia during Trump's presidential transition. But his role shrank as Witkoff, a real estate developer turned diplomat, emerged as the president's chief interlocutor with Putin and his advisers.
Watch: Putin says US peace plan for Ukraine could form 'basis' of final settlement
Friday 21 November 2025 21:00 , Tara CobhamTrump demands Zelensky approve US peace plan for Ukraine
Friday 21 November 2025 20:55 , Tara CobhamDonald Trump has demanded that Volodymyr Zelensky approve the US president’s proposed peace plan for Ukraine.
Mr Trump said the Ukrainian president will “have to like” the US-backed deal.
Full story: Trump tells Ukraine to sign peace deal in days as Zelensky warns of ‘most difficult moment in history’
Friday 21 November 2025 20:30 , Tara CobhamUS president Donald Trump has issued Ukraine a stark warning to agree to his peace proposal within days.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of “one of the most difficult moments in our history” on Friday as he considers a 28 point, US-brokered plan that appears to heavily favour Russia. Ukraine would have to cede land, agree not to join Nato and accept limits on the size of its military - while Russia would be welcomed back into the international community.
“Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in a bleak address to the nation, vowing he would not betray his country.
James C. Reynolds reports:
Trump tells Zelensky to sign peace deal in days with stark deadline for Ukraine
Watch:US has power to make Russia serious about ending Ukraine war, Zelensky says
Friday 21 November 2025 20:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainLithuania railway company halts Lukoil shipments to Russia's Kaliningrad
Friday 21 November 2025 19:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainLithuanian state owned railway group LTG said on Friday it will halt its shipments of oil cargoes by Russia's Lukoil to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad due to U.S. sanctions.
Located on the Baltic Sea coast, Kaliningrad receives many of its supplies from Russia via rail transit through NATO member state Lithuania but can also get direct shipments from its own country via the ocean.
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last month hit Lukoil with sanctions over the war in Ukraine and warned foreign companies doing business with the Russian group of consequences if this continued beyond a November 21 deadline.
"Cargoes of Lukoil and related companies’ oil or petroleum products will no longer be transported by rail in transit from Russia to Kaliningrad," LTG Group said in a statement on Friday.
The Kremlin has said that Lukoil's international interests should be respected.
German minister calls on civilian researchers to embrace potential military use
Friday 21 November 2025 19:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainGermany's research and technology minister told Reuters that the country's civilian scientists should be free to work on military or dual-use projects to support Europe's push to become more independent in security and defence.
Many of Germany's public universities are guided by conventions that ban civilian projects from working towards secondary military benefits, which has been called into question after Russia's attack on Ukraine.
"I am fundamentally in favour of reconsidering the so-called civilian clauses at universities," said Dorothee Baer, who is a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc.
"In order to maintain peace today, we cannot afford to impose restrictions on thought and research," she said, adding that the decision would ultimately lie with individual institutions and researchers.
She said the strict separation from military research was also holding back some start-up firms seeking to spin off from academic institutions.
Aerospace research is set to become a focal point of the debate after Germany's defence ministry this week unveiled plans to invest 35 billion euros ($40 billion) in space to make the military the backbone of the country's space strategy.
Trump and Merz 'have spoken about Ukraine peace plan'
Friday 21 November 2025 18:42 , Tara CobhamUS president Donald Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke on the phone on Friday evening about the US-proposed peace plan for Ukraine, a German government spokesperson has said.
France to host call with European allies this evening to discuss Ukraine, according to source
Friday 21 November 2025 18:40 , Tara CobhamFrench foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot is to host a call on Friday evening with his British, German, Polish, Finnish, Italian and European Union counterparts to discuss Ukraine, according to a French diplomatic source.
Ukraine's future 'must be determined by Ukraine,' Starmer says
Friday 21 November 2025 18:30 , Maryam Zakir-HussainSir Keir Starmer has said that Ukraine’s future must “ultimately be determined by Ukraine”.
The prime minister reiterated his belief in Kyiv's self-determination in a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky about the US-Russia developments.
French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz also took part in the call.
"That was an opportunity for us to express, again, our support for Ukraine and the principle that's very important, which is all matters to do with Ukraine must be determined ultimately by Ukraine," he told broadcasters at a Johannesburg train depot.
Putin says US peace plan for Ukraine could form 'basis' of final settlement
Friday 21 November 2025 18:14 , Tara CobhamVladimir Putin has said the US-proposed peace plan for Ukraine could form the “basis” of a final settlement.
The Russian president has accused Kyiv of opposing the suggested deal.
Putin says US peace plan can be the basis for peace in Ukraine
Friday 21 November 2025 18:02 , Tara CobhamRussian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow had received the US proposals for peace in Ukraine and that the plan could be the basis of a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
"I believe that it can be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement," Putin told senior officials in televised comments, adding that the plan had not been discussed in detail with Russia.
Putin said that Ukraine was against the plan but that neither Kyiv nor European powers understood the reality that Russian forces were advancing in Ukraine and would continue to advance unless there was peace.
Trump peace deal ‘absolutely unacceptable’ for Ukraine, warns Kyiv MP
Friday 21 November 2025 18:00 , Maryam Zakir-HussainDonald Trump’s proposed peace deal is “absolutely unacceptable”, a Ukrainian MP has told The Independent.
Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker in Volodymyr Zelensky’s ruling Servant of the People party who is also chair of the parliament’s foreign policy committee, described the plan as a “total failure” with “controversial and contradictory points”.
“It starts with the principle of respect or confirmation of Ukraine sovereignty, and this is the only point which I would leave. All other points, they are in favor of Russia,” he said.
“I suspect that Trump might be starting with this ludicrous ideas, ludicrous plan, plan in order to bring to the table both parties.”
Mr Merezhko added that the plan will “never” be acceptable for Ukraine and warned that “politically, it’s not going to work anyway”.
EU leaders to meet tomorrow to discuss Ukraine peace, von der Leyen and Costa say
Friday 21 November 2025 17:43 , Tara CobhamEU leaders will meet on Saturday in the margins of the G20 meeting in Johannesburg to discuss the situation in Ukraine, EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa said on Friday.
"We have spoken to President Zelensky. We have discussed the current situation and we are clear that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Costa and von der Leyen said in a statement on X.
Together with @eucopresident, we have spoken to President @ZelenskyyUA
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 21, 2025
From day one, Europe has stood with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine together with our friends and partners.…
