Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rejected any notion of ceding sovereign territory to Russia, a stance declared during his visit to Ankara on Wednesday. This comes amid reports of a controversial draft peace plan negotiated between US and Russian officials.
Details of the Proposed 28-Point Plan
According to initial reports from Axios, the Financial Times, and the New York Times, US and Russian officials have drafted a 28-point proposal to end the war. The plan's key tenets are believed to include a demand for Ukraine to cede the entirety of the Russian-occupied eastern Donbas region. This would effectively mean Kyiv voluntarily handing over land that Moscow's forces have been unable to seize completely by military means.
Further stipulations reportedly require Ukraine to reduce its armed forces by half and significantly limit its weaponry, particularly long-range missiles capable of striking targets within Russia. The proposed deal would also see Kyiv agree to reduce or halt US military assistance and formally ban the future deployment of Western troops, a move that would thwart initiatives like the Franco-British-led 'coalition of the willing'.
Cultural Concessions and Security Guarantees
Beyond military and territorial demands, the plan reportedly ventures into cultural policy. It would require Ukraine to recognise Russian as an official state language and grant formal status to the Russian Orthodox Church. These points have raised alarm about potential attempts to Russify the country from within.
In exchange, the proposal suggests that Ukraine and Europe could receive some form of US security guarantees against future Russian aggression. However, no concrete details of these safeguards have been revealed. This is a critical point, given that the US was a signatory to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Ukraine's security, which was later violated by Russia with no significant consequence.
Political Fallout and European Concerns
The draft plan, which appears to echo Moscow's maximalist demands, would represent a humiliating reversal for President Zelenskyy, who has consistently stated that giving up territory is unacceptable. It is also likely to be deemed unacceptable by Ukraine's European allies. These nations have long insisted on having a role in peace talks, given the profound implications any settlement would have for the continent's security, especially for NATO's eastern flank.
The plan was reportedly drafted by Russian and US officials, including Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. The authenticity of the discussions was inadvertently hinted at when Witkoff appeared to send a private message in response to the Axios story, stating, "He must have got this from K," before quickly deleting it.
No US officials have formally confirmed the plan's contents. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters he had no announcements on the topic. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a cryptic response on social media, saying that ending a complex war requires "an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas" and that achieving peace would require difficult concessions from both sides.
