Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - Kyiv was scrambling Friday to respond to a US proposal that would force it to effectively capitulate to Russia after almost four years of war, with Moscow telling Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate now or lose more territory on the battlefield.

Zelensky was holding a call with his top European allies after US President Donald Trump backed the surprise 28-point plan that demands Kyiv give up land, cut its army, pledge never to join NATO and hold snap elections.

Ukraine has not responded to the contents of the plan, but its top negotiator ruled out agreeing to anything that crossed its “red lines”.

Washington’s draft, seen by AFP, appeared to heed to the demands of the Kremlin, whose 2022 invasion has turned into Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.

Under the plan, Moscow would not only keep territories that it occupies but get more land currently controlled by Ukraine.

At the same time, the West would lift sanctions on Russia, and Moscow would be invited back into the G8.

“The effective work of the Russian armed forces should convince Zelensky: it is better to negotiate and do it now rather than later” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP.

“The space for the freedom of decision-making is shrinking for him as territories are lost,” he added.

Zelensky has said he will discuss the plan with Trump in the “coming days” – so far not saying if Kyiv would agree to any of it.

He was holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss the plan, sources in Kyiv and London told AFP.

- ‘Red lines’ -

Zelensky has insisted his country needed a “dignified peace”.

“With a neighbour like Russia, defending one’s own dignity, freedom, and independence is an extremely difficult task,” he said Friday.

Kyiv’s security council chief and negotiator Rustem Umerov said Friday that he had met with US army officials in Washington to discuss the proposal.

“There can be no decisions outside the framework of our sovereignty, the security of our people, or our red lines – now or ever,” he said on social media after the meeting.

As Kyiv scrambled about what to do next, a senior lawmaker from Zelensky’s party reflected the mood.

“Being fucking mind blown has become our norm,” the MP told AFP.

- ‘Good plan’ -

The European Union has not officially received the US proposal but it would be discussed on the sidelines of the G20 in South Africa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The White House has denied that the plan had been prepared with Moscow and the Kremlin said it had not officially received the proposal.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump “supports this plan.”

“It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine,” she added.

Washington has warned, however, that the document was still in working mode, while Kyiv said it had been presented as a “draft plan”.

- ‘De facto Russian’ -

Under the plan, seen by AFP, the United States would recognise Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, as well as Moscow-annexed Crimea, as “de facto Russian”.

Ukraine would withdraw its troops from parts of the Donetsk region it still controls – ceding more territory to Russia and in line with one of Moscow’s key demands.

The frontline would be frozen in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which are both partly occupied by Moscow, while Russia would give up small pockets of territory in has seized in the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Ukraine would receive unspecified “reliable security guarantees” while at the same time commit to cutting the size of its army.

It would also bind Ukraine to “enshrine in its constitution” not to join NATO, though European jets would be stationed in neighbouring NATO-member Poland.

As well as getting to keep its conquered territory, the plan also calls for Moscow to be “re-integrated into the global economy”.

Sanctions would be lifted and Moscow could rejoin the G8, which it was expelled from over the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Trump’s sympathies have flipped repeatedly between Moscow and Kyiv since he returned to the White House earlier this year, with this plan seen as a sign that he has taken on many of Russia’s key positions.

The proposal comes with Russian troops grinding forward on the battlefield and with Zelensky facing domestic pressure after a corruption scandal rocked the country’s war-hit energy sector.