The Trump admin has a new Russia-Ukraine peace plan
Image: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
A senior Pentagon official met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv yesterday to outline the framework of a new peace agreement that would end the yearslong Russia-Ukraine war.
Zelensky’s office said the US side believes the plan can “help reinvigorate diplomacy,” and that Ukraine has “agreed to work on the plan’s provisions in a way that would bring about a just end to the war.”
Catch up quick: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have been quietly working on the peace plan for a month, receiving input from both Ukrainians and Russians, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed yesterday.
She declined to provide any details of the proposal, but said President Trump has been briefed on it and supports it.
What’s in the plan?
According to multiple reports citing US gov’t sources (Fox News | Axios | WSJ | APNews), the Trump admin’s 28-point peace plan contains several elements that Ukraine and its European allies have long opposed:
- It calls for Russia to gain de facto control of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk (together called the Donbas), despite Kyiv still controlling ~12% of that territory.
- It would place a cap on the size of Ukraine’s military, and reduce the type of long-range weapons Kyiv receives from allies.
- Kyiv wouldn’t be permitted to have an international peacekeeping force inside the country, and would have to abandon talks of joining NATO for at least several years.
In return, Russia would reportedly promise not to further attack Ukraine or other countries in Europe, and codify that promise in legislation.
It comes at a challenging time for Ukraine
In addition to constant drone attacks targeting Ukrainian cities, Russian forces appear poised to overrun the strategic town of Pokrovsk, which could open up the rest of Ukraine’s Donbas region to Russia’s military advances.
- Opposition to Ukraine’s current leadership is also growing quickly inside the country, following the recent exposure of a $100 million corruption scandal implicating one of Zelensky’s close business associates, senior government officials, and Ukraine’s state-run energy company.
Looking ahead…Zelensky is expected to talk to Trump via phone in the coming days about working towards ending the war.
📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the reported details of the Trump admin’s new peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war?
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See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that an acceptable peace settlement likely won’t happen soon, as Putin continues to demand what he surely knows are nonstarters for Ukraine’s government, and that whatever Trump does in the coming months, European leaders expect a continued fight.
- Others contend that Vladimir Putin's determination to subjugate Ukraine, regardless of the civilian cost, has rendered any peace negotiations a mere illusion so long as nothing is done to alter a fundamentally unfavorable balance of power for Kyiv.
- “Trump’s New Ukraine Peace Plan Is a Nonstarter” –Ian Bremmer, TIME
- “Volodymyr Zelensky's two fronts” –Le Monde Editorial Board
- “Zelensky can fix this crisis — but he has to change how he leads” –Kyiv Independent Editorial Board
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that the draft “peace” plan Russian officials have hashed out with envoys from President Donald Trump administration is barely more than a complete Ukrainian surrender, with no one able to offer the “reliable security guarantees” for Ukraine that the deal promises.
- Others contend that the new “peace plan” hastily cooked up by Steve Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, if true, would be a moral and strategic catastrophe and would equate to an unacceptable capitulation to Russia and Putin.
- “This Russia-Ukraine ‘peace deal’ makes zero sense on ANY front” –NY Post Editorial Board
- “Halfhearted Allies Keep Ukraine in a Futile War” –Bernard-Henri Lévy, WSJ
- “Weakened Zelenskyy faces U.S. pressure to accept Moscow-friendly peace plan” –Guillaume Ptak, Washington Times
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