A new peace proposal for Ukraine, created by the Trump administration, may call on Ukraine to give up the eastern Donbas region and limit its military in return for security guarantees from the United States, according to a Western official involved in the talks.
U.S. officials have indicated that the plan is still in development and that a final agreement will need both sides to make compromises, not just Ukraine. Some points being discussed, which seem to align with Moscow’s demands, are not final and are likely to change.
The 28-point plan has the support of President Donald Trump and is the White House’s current effort to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Some ideas, like giving up land in areas not controlled by Russia, have been rejected by Ukraine in the past. However, U.S. officials see a chance to restart peace talks. The plan is still being outlined, and many details have not yet been decided.
“President Trump wants to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. He is frustrated that both sides have not reached a peace agreement,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Despite this, the President and his team are working on a clear plan to stop the fighting and create lasting peace.”
List of Potential Ideas
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Wednesday that the document is more of a “list of potential ideas” rather than a finished proposal. “Ending a complex and deadly war like the one in Ukraine needs a serious exchange of realistic ideas,” he wrote in a post on X. “To achieve lasting peace, both sides must agree to tough but necessary compromises. That’s why we are and will continue to develop a list of potential ideas for ending this war based on input from both sides.”
However, some of the suggestions may upset Ukraine and its supporters because they require significant land givebacks. The two regions in Donbas, Luhansk and Donetsk, are still partly controlled by Ukraine.
In the disputed areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the current battle lines would stay the same, according to a Western official familiar with the discussions. Moscow has previously asked that Kyiv give up these regions entirely. In one scenario, Ukraine would also need to reduce its military size and cut back on some of its military capabilities, including certain powerful weapons it has received during the war.
Other topics being discussed include the role of the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine after the war ends. The plan also offers U.S.-backed security guarantees to make sure that Russia cannot invade further or expand its conflict into Europe. A Western official shared these details about the document. This proposal is similar to a peace plan discussed in Istanbul during the early days of the war in 2022 and repeats some of Moscow’s broader demands regarding Ukraine’s military and alliances.
Talks in Ukraine
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine on Thursday and presented the Trump administration’s proposed peace plan, according to a U.S. defense official speaking to CNN. The official clarified that the U.S. expects Zelensky to sign a framework with the U.S. aimed at working towards a future peace agreement, rather than committing to a final peace deal at this stage.
The specifics of the timeline and whether Zelensky agreed to the proposed points remain unclear. European and Ukrainian officials told reporters on Wednesday that the plan appears to include unacceptable and maximalist demands from Russia, including the cession of territory in the eastern Donbas region that Russia does not currently control.
However, the Ukrainian presidential office noted on X on Thursday that “the President of Ukraine has officially received a draft plan from the American side that, in their assessment, could help reinvigorate diplomacy.”
The presidential office stated that “the President of Ukraine outlined the fundamental principles that matter to our people. Following today’s meeting, the parties agreed to work on the plan’s provisions in a way that would lead to a just end to the war.” Zelensky also expects to speak with Trump in the coming days.
When asked why the Army was tasked with delivering the peace plan instead of diplomats, the defense official explained that the Army “comes from a trusted position” with the Ukrainians and is already in Ukraine to attend meetings on battlefield innovation, a topic Driscoll has been deeply involved with during his tenure as secretary.
“We come from a trusted position. The U.S. Army is a proven ally of Ukraine,” the official added.
‘Groundhog Day’
A European diplomat supported a Western official’s view of a proposal that has received a lot of attention. The diplomat said this new plan repeats many of Moscow’s strong demands from 2022 and reminded them of the movie “Groundhog Day,” where events keep happening over and over. A European envoy based in Ukraine expressed that the proposal had completely caught the diplomatic community off guard.
“This has all been discussed before and rejected, and now we’re back to square one,” the diplomat stated. “For the Ukrainians, this is simply a non-starter, and for good reason. Accepting it would only invite the Russians to return at a future date. It would be political suicide for any Ukrainian leader to agree to this, and military suicide to hand over that fortified area.”
The diplomat also mentioned that foreign ministries across Europe and elsewhere were reaching out to contacts in Washington for guidance on the proposal, only to discover that officials there were also unaware of it.
“We have heard directly from people in the State Department and on Capitol Hill that nobody knew anything about this plan until it was leaked yesterday,” the diplomat reported. “People who should have been informed knew nothing about it. There’s a lot of annoyance and confusion.”
Any Plans Should Involve Europe
In her first public comments since the emergence of the reports, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told reporters on Thursday that “for any plan to work, it needs the support of Ukrainians and Europeans.”
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, also remarked to CNN that any plans should involve Europe and preserve Kyiv’s ability to defend itself. “We have a much bigger stake in this than the U.S., and therefore Ukraine, as well as Europe, must be involved,” he asserted.
According to CNN, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been leading the initiative. A source indicated that negotiations have accelerated this week as the administration believes the Kremlin has shown renewed openness to a deal. A U.S. official stated that Witkoff had been quietly working on the plan for a month, gathering input from both the Ukrainians and the Russians regarding acceptable terms.