Newly leaked details of a 28-point U.S. peace plan for Ukraine reveal sweeping territorial concessions and security arrangements that Washington has begun discussing with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky said he is ready for “honest work” with the United States after receiving the proposal. According to the published details, Kyiv would give up the parts of the Donbas it still controls, reduce its armed forces to 600,000 personnel, pledge not to join NATO, and forgo certain weapons systems. In exchange, Ukraine would receive “reliable security guarantees,” including the deployment of European fighter aircraft in Poland.
The plan also outlines Russia’s return to the global economy, including a gradual lifting of sanctions and bringing Moscow back into the G7—restoring it to a G8. Around $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be transferred to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction. Russia, for its part, would commit to not attacking its neighbors.
Zelensky’s office said Ukraine had “agreed to work on the plan’s provisions in a way that would bring about a just end to the war.” Zelensky added that any settlement must respect the “dignity of the Ukrainian people.” Despite reservations in Kyiv, he said he “appreciated the efforts of President Trump and his team to return security to Europe.”
According to U.S. officials, the plan was drafted after discussions with Rustem Umerov, a senior member of Zelensky’s administration, who accepted most of its points after suggesting changes. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have spent the past month quietly engaging both Moscow and Kyiv “to understand what these countries would commit to in order to see a lasting and durable peace.”
Europe, however, has been almost entirely left out. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas admitted she was unaware of any European role in drawing up the plan, adding only that “for any plan to work, it needs Ukrainians and Europeans on board.” Her comment followed reports that senior U.S. officials had arrived in Ukraine for peace talks that once again did not include Brussels. Zelensky previously said that “only” the United States—specifically President Trump—“have sufficient power to make this war come to an end.”
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán weighed in on X, saying Trump’s peace initiative has “gained new momentum,” while “in Brussels, they have lost the plot once again,” choosing to prioritise funding the war instead of pursuing a settlement.
