McConnell makes statement regarding U.S. peace proposal to end Russia-Ukraine war

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, released the following statement Friday regarding a United States peace proposal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine:

“Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool. If administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than securing real peace, then the president ought to find new advisors. Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America’s interests. And a capitulation like Biden’s abandonment of Afghanistan would be catastrophic to a legacy of peace through strength.”

CNN reported Friday that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky stated today that the country is at “one of the most difficult moments” of its history.

CNN further reports this follows a proposal drafted by the United States to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, putting pressure on Kyiv to “cede territory, limit the size of its military and promise not to join NATO in exchange for an end to the war.”

“The pressure on Ukraine is now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points, or an extremely harsh winter,” Zelensky said in his daily video address, referencing the 28-point plan put forward by President Donald Trump.

“The most difficult and further risks are life without freedom, without dignity, without justice, and believing someone who has already attacked us twice,” he continued.

According to CNN, Zelensky stated Ukraine will “work calmly” and quickly with the United States and its partners toward an end to the war.

CNN states “a number of European leaders have spoken out in support of Ukraine” since the proposal was released, vowing “to stand by Kyiv and insisting that no decisions should be made about the fate of the country without its input.”

“I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process, and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy,” Zelensky stated.