'Rewarding Russian butchery' — US lawmakers rail against Trump's Ukraine peace deal
U.S. politicians have sent a sharp warning that U.S. President Donald Trump's new peace proposal rewards "Russian butchery" and undermines international security.
"Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America’s interests," U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell said in an X post.
"And a capitulation like Biden’s abandonment of Afghanistan would be catastrophic to a legacy of peace through strength."
In the latest push to end the war in Ukraine at any cost, Trump is pressing Kyiv to accept a peace proposal built around sweeping Russian demands, such as surrendering the entire Donbas region and capping the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in return for a Western security guarantee.
Trump set Kyiv a Nov. 27 deadline to decide whether to accept the demands or lose the support of its most powerful ally.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine faces "an extremely difficult choice," which would lead to either losing its dignity or risking the loss of a key ally. Many in Ukraine, from politicians to soldiers risking their lives for their country's independence, view the proposal as "capitulation."
Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick said on Nov. 21 that he and his allies have launched a discharge petition "to force a vote on crushing Russian sanctions immediately upon our return." A discharge petition can bypass the committee leadership if at least 218 of the 435 representatives sign it.
"Today, we have officially notified both the Clerk of the House and House leadership," Fitzpatrick said on X, stressing that "Russian-drafted propaganda must be rejected."
Republican representative Don Bacon said on Nov. 21 that he would be signing the petition, adding that "Congress needs to inject itself into this appeasement by the Administration towards Russia."
Republican Senator Roger Wicker also criticized Trump's proposal on Nov. 21, saying that it has "real problems" and that he is "highly skeptical" that it would achieve peace.
"Ukraine should not be forced to give up its lands to one of the world’s most flagrant war criminals in Vladimir Putin," Wicker said, adding that "the size and disposition of Ukraine’s armed forces is a sovereign choice for its government and people."
"In particular, any suggestion that we can pursue arms control with a serial liar and killer like Putin should be treated with great skepticism."
Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen also said in an interview with CNN that the U.S. should be putting more pressure on Moscow, such as by putting secondary sanctions on companies helping Russia's war efforts, and providing Ukraine's long-awaited long-range weapons to Kyiv.
Stressing that the U.S. should not be "representing Russia" in the peace deal, Shaheen called on Washington to "bring Putin to the (negotiating) table."
"This is a Putin plan for Ukraine," Shaheen, the most senior Democrat at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said on Nov. 21.
