President Zelensky meeting with leaders of major European countries. UPI=Yonhap News 

U.S. President Donald Trump is aiming to finalize a peace agreement with Ukraine by Christmas, the Financial Times (FT) reported on the 9th (local time).

According to the report, the U.S. recently presented Ukraine with a de facto deadline of just a few days, pressuring it to cede territories in the eastern Donbas region as demanded by Russia.

The U.S. has stated its position of promising security guarantees to Ukraine in return, but specific details have not yet been clearly defined.

An official familiar with the negotiation content told FT, "President Trump hopes to reach an agreement (for peace) by Christmas."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confided to European leaders on the 6th that he was pressured by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's former son-in-law Jared Kushner during a two-hour phone call to make a swift decision.

Zelensky reportedly countered by saying he needed time to discuss with European allies.

He stated in a media briefing on WhatsApp on the 8th, "Frankly speaking, the U.S. wants an agreement (compromise) today."

He specifically revealed that the U.S. was pressuring Ukraine to accept Russia's demand to cede its eastern territories.

The initial peace proposal, drafted and led by the U.S., was criticized as being overly favorable to Russia, drawing backlash from Ukraine and European countries.

The 28-point peace proposal at the time included limitations on Ukraine's military size to 600,000, constitutional stipulation of Ukraine's non-accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the abandonment of territories in the eastern Donbas region.

Subsequently, Ukraine managed to reduce the 28-point peace proposal to 20 articles after further consultations with the U.S., and significant progress was made in discussing detailed items during subsequent talks with major European countries.

Based on these discussions, Ukraine intends to present a revised negotiation proposal to the U.S. as early as the 10th.

However, both sides remain at odds over the issue of ceding Donbas territories.

Ukraine strongly opposes this, viewing territorial cession as a 'surrender,' and specifically, over 200,000 Ukrainian citizens reside in the Donbas Donetsk region.

Europe also opposes this, viewing Russia's acquisition of Donbas as a threat.

Conversely, Russia and the U.S. continue to pressure Ukraine to cede eastern Donbas territories in exchange for peace negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing European countries opposing the U.S.-led peace talks, accused them of being "on the side of war" and stated at a local investment forum on the 2nd that "the recently proposed changes (to the peace proposal) are absolutely unacceptable."

He declared that Russia could not back down an inch from the initial draft peace proposal, which included the cession of Donbas territories.

With discussions on territorial concessions proceeding in parallel, it remains uncertain whether President Trump can achieve his goal of reaching an agreement by Christmas.

In a statement released on the same day, President Zelensky urged, "Genuine peace negotiations depend on Russia," adding, "Russia must take substantive measures to prevent bloodshed and the escalation of war."