{"id":3045,"date":"2025-11-21T03:36:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3045"},"modified":"2025-11-21T03:36:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:36:33","slug":"zelensky-considers-u-s-russia-peace-plan-amid-ukraines-corruption-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3045","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky Considers U.S.-Russia Peace Plan Amid Ukraine&#8217;s Corruption Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s response to a <strong>U.S.<\/strong>-drafted peace plan, <strong>Taiwan<\/strong>\u2019s enduring friendship with <strong>Japan<\/strong>, and a volcanic eruption in <strong>Indonesia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Open to Considering<\/h3>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/20\/politics\/ukraine-russia-trump-peace-proposal\">expressed<\/a> willingness on Thursday to consider a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/19\/us-russia-secret-peace-deal-ukraine-donbas-security-guarantees-zelensky\/\">U.S.-drafted peace deal<\/a> to end the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the proposal reportedly calling for Kyiv to make substantial concessions to Moscow. \u201cWe are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world, so that the outcome is peace,\u201d Zelensky\u2019s office said in a statement following his meeting with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>\u2019s response to a <strong>U.S.<\/strong>-drafted peace plan, <strong>Taiwan<\/strong>\u2019s enduring friendship with <strong>Japan<\/strong>, and a volcanic eruption in <strong>Indonesia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Open to Considering<\/h3>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/20\/politics\/ukraine-russia-trump-peace-proposal\">expressed<\/a> willingness on Thursday to consider a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/19\/us-russia-secret-peace-deal-ukraine-donbas-security-guarantees-zelensky\/\">U.S.-drafted peace deal<\/a> to end the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the proposal reportedly calling for Kyiv to make substantial concessions to Moscow. \u201cWe are ready now, as before, to work constructively with the American side, as well as with our partners in Europe and around the world, so that the outcome is peace,\u201d Zelensky\u2019s office said in a statement following his meeting with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is unclear what the timeline for progress is and which points, if any, Zelensky has agreed to.<\/p>\n<p>Reports emerged this week that Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff has been <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/19\/us-russia-peace-plan-ukraine-witkoff-dmitriev-trump\/\">working secretly<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/19\/kirill-dmitriev-russia-envoy-putin-ukraine-witkoff\/\">Kirill Dmitriev<\/a>, an envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Russia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund, to draft a 28-point peace deal. The plan includes several elements that Ukraine has long considered nonstarters, including requiring it to make significant territorial concessions to Moscow and accept limits on the size and capabilities of its military, in exchange for U.S. security guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States has been working on a detailed and acceptable plan for both sides to stop the killing and create a durable, lasting peace,\u201d White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/trump-russia-ukraine-war-news-peace-plan-updates-11078716\">said<\/a> on Thursday. Moscow, meanwhile, has downplayed Russia\u2019s involvement in crafting the proposal, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that \u201ccontacts\u201d with the United States had occurred but that no \u201cconsultations or negotiations\u201d were happening.<\/p>\n<p>Yet news of the plan has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cvgdgrqwnq9o\">been met with concern from many of Ukraine\u2019s European allies<\/a>, as Ukraine was reportedly only included after extensive talks between the U.S. and Russian envoys were had, and European officials were not consulted during the initial drafting process.<\/p>\n<p>The White House has tried to reassure Kyiv and its allies that the plan is a \u201clive document,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/11\/20\/trump-ukraine-plan-zelensky-driscoll-meeting\">Axios<\/a>, with Witkoff telling German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday that the new plan is a \u201cframework of ideas.\u201d But that hasn\u2019t stopped some Western leaders from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/europeans-push-back-us-plan-that-would-force-concessions-ukraine-2025-11-20\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=112025&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">voicing concerns<\/a> that the deal is more a win for Russia than it is for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUkrainians want peace\u2014a just peace that respects everyone\u2019s sovereignty, a durable peace that can\u2019t be called into question by future aggression,\u201d French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot said on Thursday. \u201cBut peace cannot be a capitulation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. officials have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/playbook\/2025\/11\/19\/a-peace-deal-as-soon-as-this-week-00658623\">suggested<\/a> that Zelensky may be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/11\/20\/trump-ukraine-plan-zelensky-driscoll-meeting\">more inclined<\/a> to concede past non-negotiables, as his administration remains embroiled in a debilitating <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/13\/ukraine-corruption-scandal-energy-zelensky-investigation-russia\/\">corruption scandal<\/a>. This week, Ukrainian opposition politicians called on the president to fire his chief of staff or even form a new unity government, and late Thursday, Zelensky convened his party\u2019s lawmakers to address domestic concerns.<\/p>\n<p>However, other analysts have argued that the scandal may harden Zelensky\u2019s resolve in order to avoid appearing as if he\u2019s selling out to Moscow\u2014an allegation that the Ukrainian leader cannot afford. This comes as Russian forces are poised to capture the strategic front-line city of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/13\/ukraine-pokrovsk-russia-war-drones\/\">Pokrovsk<\/a>. Video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/russian-video-shows-soldiers-walking-freely-through-ruins-ukraines-pokrovsk-2025-11-20\/\">released<\/a> by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday appeared to show Russian troops moving freely through the southern part of Pokrovsk.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Taipei backs Tokyo. <\/strong>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/taiwan-president-shows-support-japan-china-dispute-with-sushi-lunch-2025-11-20\/\">posted<\/a> a photo to his Instagram and Facebook accounts of himself enjoying Japanese-sourced sushi on Thursday in a thinly veiled reference to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/19\/china\/japan-china-taiwan-dispute-intl-hnk\">reports<\/a> that China was planning to ban Japanese seafood imports. \u201cIt fully shows the firm friendship between Taiwan and Japan,\u201d Lai wrote.<\/p>\n<p>His post comes amid a fraught diplomatic spat between China and Japan that began earlier this month, when newly elected Japanese Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/21\/japan-elections-prime-minister-conservative-takaichi\/\">Sanae Takaichi<\/a> suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could threaten Tokyo and trigger a Japanese military response. The <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/18\/china-japan-feud-takaichi-diplomacy-history\/\">ensuing backlash<\/a>\u2014including Beijing and Tokyo summoning each other\u2019s ambassadors, flight cancellations to Japan, new Chinese maritime patrols near disputed islands, and now the Japanese seafood import restrictions\u2014has left the region teetering toward all-out diplomatic war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this critical juncture, we must also support Japan in effectively stabilizing the situation and halting the Chinese communists\u2019 bullying behavior,\u201d Taiwanese Foreign Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/taiwan-president-shows-support-japan-china-dispute-with-sushi-lunch-2025-11-20\/\">Lin Chia-lung<\/a> said, adding that Taipei\u2019s citizens should make more visits to Japan and buy more Japanese products to show their support.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Level 4 alert. <\/strong>Indonesian authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/environment\/indonesia-evacuates-stranded-climbers-after-semeru-volcano-erupts-2025-11-20\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=112025&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">evacuated<\/a> more than 1,000 people on Thursday following the eruption of its Semeru volcano. Located on the heavily populated Java Island, Semeru is one of roughly 130 active volcanos in Indonesia and is one of the country\u2019s tallest peaks.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esdm.go.id\/en\/media-center\/news-archives\/pvmbg-tingkatkan-aktivitas-gunung-api-semeru-ke-level-iv-awas\">Level 4 alert<\/a>\u2014the Indonesian government\u2019s highest level\u2014remained in effect after the volcano erupted 10 times on Wednesday, with officials warning citizens of lava flows, rockfall, and hot ash clouds descending Semeru\u2019s slopes. Individuals within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/20\/world\/asia\/indonesia-mount-semeru-eruption.html\">five miles<\/a> of Semeru are at risk of being hit by debris, and those as far as 12 miles away could face lava and ash. Australia\u2019s Bureau of Meteorology\u2019s Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, which is responsible for monitoring Southeast Asian airspace, has also issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/extreme-weather\/eruption-indonesias-mount-semeru-sends-ash-more-than-6500-feet-air\">Volcanic Ash Advisory<\/a> for air traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ocean\u2019s Ring of Fire, a highly seismically active zone that routinely sees volcanic activity. Semeru has erupted more than <a href=\"https:\/\/magma.esdm.go.id\/v1\/gunung-api\/informasi-letusan\">2,800 times<\/a> so far this year; its last major blast in December 2021 killed at least 51 people and doused several nearby villages in ash.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Deadly Israeli strikes. <\/strong>Israeli forces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/11\/19\/middleeast\/israel-strikes-gaza-escalation-latam-intl\">launched<\/a> airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday, killing at least 32 people and injuring around 88 others. The Israeli military said that the operations were in retaliation for militants shooting at Israeli soldiers near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis\u2014an attack that did not cause any injuries. Hamas denied the allegations, accusing Israel of attempting to \u201cjustify its ongoing crimes and violations\u201d and demanding that the United States exert \u201cimmediate, serious pressure\u201d on Israel to rein in its military campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Bouts of deadly violence have marred the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/11\/gaza-cease-fire-deal-phase-two-trump-peace-talks-israel-hamas-security\/\">fragile cease-fire<\/a> several times since the truce went into effect last month. In at least two separate instances, Hamas militants have fired on Israeli troops, with one incident killing at least one soldier In response, Israeli forces have unleashed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/19\/world\/middleeast\/israeli-strikes-gaza-deaths.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20251120&amp;instance_id=166806&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=210977&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">heavy force<\/a>, killing about 312 Palestinians in total, according to local health officials.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Wednesday, Israel\u2019s military <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/lebanon-israel-airstrike-84a26c919c2636e6bd8d0a86ae166b3a\">carried out<\/a> airstrikes at suspected Hezbollah sites, including weapons storage facilities, in southern Lebanon. The operation came one day after Israeli attacks targeted a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, killing 13 people. This was the deadliest assault on Israel\u2019s northern neighbor since a cease-fire last November ended the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/11\/26\/five-questions-ceasefire-israel-hezbollah-lebanon\/\">Israel-Hezbollah war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n<p>A U.S. federal grand jury <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2025\/11\/16\/man-parakeets-underwear-smuggling\/\">indicted<\/a> 35-year-old Jesse Agus Martinez last Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle two orange-fronted parakeets into the United States\u2014via his underwear. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdca\/pr\/man-indicted-importing-protected-parakeets-his-pants\">According<\/a> to the U.S. attorney\u2019s office for the Southern District of California, when Customs and Border Protection officers questioned Martinez, a U.S. citizen, about his unusually large bulge, Martinez claimed that it was his \u201c<em>pirrin<\/em>,\u201d a Spanish word for penis. Both birds were found alive, though heavily sedated, inside brown sacks tucked into Martinez\u2019s undergarments. Martinez faces up to 20 years in prison for trafficking a protected species without following proper quarantine and clearance procedures.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/20\/zelensky-ukraine-russia-us-peace-plan-corruption-scandal\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Ukraine\u2019s response to a U.S.-drafted peace plan, Taiwan\u2019s enduring friendship with Japan, and a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Open to Considering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed willingness on Thursday to consider a U.S.-drafted peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the proposal reportedly calling for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}