Trump cancels Ukraine's Thursday deadline to agree to peace plan

US President Donald Trump has set the Thanksgiving holiday on November 27 as the day he wants Ukraine to agree to a White House-brokered deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

However, he eventually backed away from the hard deadline, noting that he wanted the deal as soon as possible. "The deadline is the end for me," Trump said on the presidential plane.

He dismissed a report that U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff had advised the Russians on how to negotiate with him on the issue.
He said U.S. negotiators were making progress in talks with Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow had agreed to some concessions. But he gave no details.

The president noted that Russia appeared to have the upper hand in the war and that concluding a deal would be in Ukraine's best interests. He added that some of Ukraine's territory "may be acquired by Russia anyway" over the next few months.

The US is negotiating security guarantees for Ukraine with Europe, he said.

(reuters, est)