White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump and his national security team are “steadfast” in their goal to end the war in Ukraine. She confirmed earlier in the day that the US has been working on a new plan to stop the conflict. Leavitt said both sides have been involved in the discussions, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been putting the plan together over the past month.
On Thursday, Leavitt dismissed claims that the plan favours Russia and stressed that Ukraine had been included in the process. She said Trump had become “increasingly frustrated” with both countries, but that each had been involved “equally” while Witkoff and Rubio worked on the peace proposal.
So far, no official details of the plan have been made public. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said he had “received a draft plan from the American side” in a statement on Telegram.
Zelenskyy to negotiate over US-Russia peace deal
After meeting US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Thursday, Zelenskyy said there would be “constructive, honest and swift work” toward ending the war. The US Embassy in Kyiv also said on X that “momentum is finally on the side of peace.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to discuss a US-backed peace plan with Donald Trump, even though the proposal asks Ukraine to accept difficult compromises to stop Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy’s office confirmed on Thursday that he had received a draft version of the plan, prepared by US and Russian officials, and that he would speak with Trump soon about possible diplomatic options and the main steps needed to reach peace.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not stand in the way of any diplomatic efforts. He stressed that the top priority was to keep a constructive process going with the US and other partners. He also said Ukraine needed steady support for its military, including defence operations and long-range strikes.
The president’s careful tone followed sharp criticism from some Ukrainian officials, who described the plan as unrealistic and impossible to accept. Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed peace, and that the country would do everything possible to show it was not blocking diplomacy. He added that Ukraine would not make emotional or rushed statements.
Does Trump’s peace plan favour Russia?
According to reports, the 28-point peace proposal is very similar to the demands Russia made early in the war in 2022. It was reportedly written by Russian and US officials with Trump’s backing, and Ukraine was not included in the process. A European diplomat said they only learned about the plan from the news.
The proposal calls for Ukraine to give up Crimea and the Donbas. It also freezes the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia where they currently stand. Ukraine would have to cut its military to 600,000 troops, reducing its forces by several hundred thousand.
The plan also says European fighter jets would be based in Poland to protect Ukraine, but no Nato troops could be inside Ukraine, and the country would have to promise never to join Nato. Foreign soldiers would not be allowed on Ukrainian territory, which means there could be no UK- or France-led peacekeeping mission. The US would offer some kind of security guarantee, though details were not given. It also proposes using $100bn of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine and includes steps that could eventually bring Russia back into the global economy, including lifting sanctions.
Ukrainian officials said the proposal would effectively end Ukraine’s status as an independent country. The plan comes almost four years after Russia tried and failed to capture Kyiv, and at a time when Trump’s efforts to push forward a peace deal have stalled.
