US tells Nato if Zelenskyy does not sign peace deal Ukraine will face worse in future

US army secretary briefs ambassadors at ‘nightmare meeting’ in Kyiv on Friday after talks with Ukrainian leader

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US secretary of the army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

US officials have told Nato allies they expect to push president Volodymyr Zelenskyy into agreeing to a peace deal in the coming days, under the threat that if Kyiv does not sign, it will face a much worse deal in future.

The US army secretary, Dan Driscoll, briefed ambassadors from Nato nations at a meeting in Kyiv late on Friday, after talks with Mr Zelenskyy and taking a phone call from the White House. “No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,” he told them, according to one person who was present.